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Studies  in 

THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

By  KATE  BUSS 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


From   the   Estate 

of 

Urie  McCleary 


ONE  THOUSAND  COPIES  ONLY  OF  THIS  BOOK  HAVE 

BEEN  PRINTED  ON  OLDE  STYLE  BOOK  PAPER  AND 

THE  TYPE  DISTRIBUTED  IN  THE  MONTH  OF  JANUARY 

MDCCCCXXII. 

THIS  IS  NUMBER 


STUDIES  IN  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 


•» 


WOMEN,   AS  WELL  AS  MEN,   HAVE   BEEN   SOLDIERS   IN  CHINA. 

THIS   PHOTOGRAPH  SHOWS  MEI   LAN-FANG— THE 

MOST    CELEBRATED    CHINESE    ACTOR    OF 

TODAY— AS    A    FEMININE    WARRIOR 


Studies  in 

THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

By  KATE  BUSS 


Boston 

The  Four  Seas  Company 

1922 


Copyright,  1922,  by 

THE  FOUR  SEAS  COMPANY 


The     Four     Seas     Press 
Boston,    Mass.,    U.   S.   A. 


ARTS 


To 
C.  H.  B.  and  C.  B.  B. 


"Without  error  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  truth.'' 

CHINESE  PROVERB 


Contents 


Chapter  Page 

I.  Origin  of  the  Chinese  Drama  .      .      .15 

II.     Types  of  Plays 20 

III.  The  Plays  as  Literature     ....     27 

IV.  Religious  Influence  upon  the  Drama     36 
V.     Types  and  Characters 41 

VI.     The  Actors 46 

VII.     The  Music 53 

VIII.     Decoration,    Costume,    and    Symbolic 

Design 61 

IX.     Customs   of   the   Playhouse  and   the 

Greenroom 71 


Illustrations 

Page 

Mei  Lan-fang,  Celebrated  Chinese  Actor  of 

Today  frontispiece 

The  Great  Monad 13 

The  Theatre  God 14 

Scene  from  an  Event  in  the  Sung  Dynasty  16 

Figures  from  a  Play  of  the  Tai-ping  Rebel- 
lion       20 

God  of  Agriculture 24 

Mei  Lan-fang  in  Costume 30 

Three  Chinese  Actors  in  Costume  ....  34 

Meditation — a  Buddhist  Exercise  ....  38 

Trio  of  Actors  in  an  Historical  Scene  from 

the  Wei  Dynasty 40 

Two  Male  Actors  in  Costume 42 

Program  of  a  Theatre  in  Peking,  1920  ...  44 

A  Portrait  of  Mei  Lan-fang 48 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Strolling  Musicians 50 

Strolling  Mountebank  with  Monkey  ...  52 

Bamboo  Kouan 54 

Chinese  Guitar 56 

Hou  K'in,  or  Two-String  Violin     ....  60 

Mei  Lan-fang  in  the  Costume  of  an  Ancient 

Warrior 62 

Chinese  Symbol  for  Age 64 

Symbol  for  Happiness 64 

The  Five-clawed  Imperial  Dragon  ....  66 

Lei  Shen,  the  Thunder  God 68 

Kuan  Ti,  God  of  War 70 

A    Permanent    Theatre    in    Peking,    Estab- 
lished During  the  Ming  Dynasty              .  72. 

A  Temporary  Theatre,  of  Mats  and  Bamboo  .  74 

A  Movable  Stage 76 


Introduction 


IT  is  to  be  supposed  that  a  republican  gov- 
ernment in  China  will  interrupt  the  Imperial 
drama  convention.  Historically  the  Imperial 
theatre  ended  with  the  dissolution  of  the  Ching 
dynasty  nine  years  ago,  but  the  tradition  which 
has  maintained  it  during  the  last  six  hundred 
years  is  powerful  enough  to  have  continued  it  to 
the  present  hour  as  the  popular  contemporary 
theatre,  and,  in  most  parts  of  the  country,  as 
the  only  type  of  dramatic  production.  Recent 
deviations  in  a  few  minor  theatres  are  as  yet 
transitory  and  without  focus. 

This  book  is  concerned  solely  with  the  Imperial 
drama.  It  is  compiled  from  widely  scattered  texts 
and  illustrations;  and  is  intended  to  be  commen- 
tarial  rather  than  analytical.  I  desire  to  thank 
Dr.  John  C.  Ferguson,  Professor  Edward  S.  Morse, 
Mr.  Shen  Hung,  Mr.  Y.  Wong,  and  Mr.  Aram 
Antranikian  for  assistance  in  obtaining  notes  and 
illustrations. 

When  scores  of  dramatists  present  a  contem- 
porary or  a  traditional  people  it  is  inevitable  that 

11 


12  INTRODUCTION 

they  present  a  considerable  degree  of  fact.  Chi- 
nese plays  and  the  Chinese  drama  intrigue  the 
mind  and  invite  the  Occidental  to  their  study  for 
the  historical,  civil,  and  spiritual  reflection  of 
forty  centuries  of  civilization,  and  for  the  cere- 
monious and  enduring  conventions  they  reveal. 

To  understand  is  the  dilemma!  Many  for- 
eigners have  visited  Chinese  theatres:  heard  the 
"clamour"  of  music  that  is  unfamiliar  both  in 
interval  and  orchestration,  listened  to  a  strange 
language  and  looked  upon  fantastic  costumery, 
to  write  a  lot  of  nonsense  about  the  Chinese  stage ; 
they  have  not  been  able  to  separate  opposing  tra- 
ditions— and  it  is  they  who  have  shrouded  Chinese 
splendour  in  incorrect  adjectives. 

The  Chinese  drama  must  be  judged  by  native 
standards.  Unlike  her  Nipponese  neighbour,  China 
is  not  a  borrowing  nation.  Her  arts  of  painting, 
calligraphy,  literature,  the  theatre,  et  cetera,  are 
indigenous,  and  can  be  received  in  their  proper 
magnificence  only  when  disassociated  from  the 
theories  that  control  Western  arts,  from  which 
they  differ  in  purpose,  in  thesis,  and  in  exposition. 

KATE   BUSS 

Paris 
October  1921 


STUDIES  IN   THE   CHINESE   DRAMA 


€ 


The  Grea/  Mo /73a/ 


T/?ej/re    God 


THE  THEATRE  GOD  USUALLY  RESEMBLES  THE 
EIGHTH    CENTURY    EMPEROR.     MING    HUANG 


CHAPTER   I 

Origin  of  the  Chinese  Drama 

THE  birth  year  of  the  Chinese  drama  is 
unknown.  Dates  are  variously  suggested 
and  disagreed  upon  and  enclose  a  period 
of  more  than  twenty-five  centuries.  The  reason 
for  this  divergence  of  opinion  is  that  while  one 
writer  considers  the  pantomimic  dances — for  re- 
ligious worship  or  military  jubilation — which  were 
presented  to  musical  accompaniment,  a  dramatic 
production,  another  waits  to  name  the  century  of 
the  initial  stage  performance  until  festival  rites 
unite  with  speech  in  dramatic  situation  and  an 
histrionic  denouement;  or,  one  studies  drama 
from  the  assumption  of  the  aesthetic,  and  another, 
the  anthropologist,  considers  physical  trait  and 
language  and  primitive  custom  to  find  in  the 
emotional  agreement  in  ceremony  and  ritual  a 
dramatic  presentation. 

Like  its  other  arts  a  nation's  drama  is  a  develop- 
ment and  is  incepted,  as  they  are,  by  civic  and 
national  ceremony.    It  is  only  the  shortlived  that 

15 


16  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

is  born  completely  functioning.  And  the  tenacious 
Chinese  drama  can  have  had  neither  a  definitely 
marked  inception  nor  a  conclusion  for  the  early 
scribe  to  have  noted,  even  in  a  country  of  remark- 
able literary  antiquity  and  the  habit  of  notation. 
From  the  cult  of  the  dead  Chinese  drama  has  been 
developed  by  assimilation,  by  the  patronage  of 
succeeding  emperours,  and  the  corresponding 
conversion  of  the  Chinese  people. 

Historians  say  that  music  existed  in  China  in 
B.  C.  5400.  Of  China's  second  dynasty  and  its 
"Golden  Age"  B.  C.  2205-1766,  we  read  that  re- 
ligious worship  was  accompanied  by  music  and 
dances  which  represented  the  occupations  of  the 
people — plowing  and  harvesting,  war  and  peace; 
and  that  these  dances  illustrated  the  sensations 
of  working,  joy,  fatigue,  and  content. 

The  Chou  Ritual  classic  written  several  cen- 
turies before  the  time  of  Confucius  states  that 
six  ceremonial  dances  were  in  vogue  at  that  early 
period:  "In  the  first,  wands  with  whole  feathers 
were  waved — in  the  worship  of  the  spirits  of 
agriculture;  in  the  second  wands  with  divided 
feathers  were  used — in  the  ancestral  temples;  in 
the  third  feather  caps  were  worn  on  the  head,  and 
the  upper  garments  were  adorned  with  kingfisher 
feathers— in  blessing  the  four  quarters  of  the 
realm;  in  the  fourth  yak-tails  were  used — in 
ceremonial  for  the  promotion  of  harmony;  in  the 


SCENE   TAKEN    FROM   AN   EVENT   IN    THE   SUNG   DYNASTY 

(960-1277).      THE   HEROINE,   A   FAMOUS    GENERAL   OF 

THAT  TIME,  HAS  DISARMED  HER  ANTAGONIST 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA        17 

fifth  shields  were  manipulated — to  celebrate  mili- 
tary merit;  in  the  sixth  the  bare  hands  were 
waved — in  homage  to  the  stars  and  constellations. 

But  the  ceremonial  dances  chiefly  in  vogue 
were  to  celebrate,  and  partly  to  portray,  civil  and 
military  accomplishment.  "Royal  music  was  of 
two  kinds.  If  civil  merit  was  to  be  celebrated  the 
posturers  grasped  feather  wands ;  if  martial  prow- 
ess, they  grasped  vermillion  shields  and  jade 
(embossed)  battle-axes.  The  jade  signified  virtue, 
and  the  shields  benevolence,  to  inculcate  clemency 
to  those  defeated."  1 

Here,  without  question,  is  action  to  an  accom- 
paniment of  music.  Speech  and  song  were  a 
later  emanation.  Gradually  these  dances  ex- 
pressed more  license  than  litany  and  during  the 
Chou  dynasty,  B.  C.  1122-255,  were  forbidden  in 
association  with  religious  worship ;  they  were  then 
presented  under  separate  ceremonials  but  con- 
tinued to  give  honour  to  the  same  symbols.  Elab- 
ourate  and  fantastic  costumery  and  an  increased 
ballet  were  added  and  pantomine  had  become  a 
spectacle  for  popular  entertainment,  and  was  pre- 
sented on  a  stage  built  for  the  purpose  instead 
of  in  a  temple. 

Other  early  Chinese  writers  mention  oc<  'urrences 
which  establish  the  fact  of  some  form  of  drama: 

i  W.  Arthur  Cornaby  in  "The  New  China  Review"  for 
March,  1919. 


18  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

we  read  of  an  emperour  who  lived  seventeen  hun- 
dred years  before  the  Christian  era  who  was  com- 
mended for  having  forbidden  certain  stage  con- 
ventions; another  ruler  of  a  pre-Christian  dynasty 
was  deprived  of  funeral  honours  because  he  was 
thought  to  have  too  much  enjoyed  the  theatre; 
and  a  third  emperour  was  advised  to  exclude 
actors  from  his  court. 

Emile  Guimet1  says  that  a  Chinese  theatre  was 
established  by  an  emperour  about  B.  C.  700  and 
that  the  writers  of  that  century  applied  them- 
selves to  the  development  of  a  poetic  drama.  Any 
literature  which  may  have  existed  has  been  de- 
stroyed by  succeeding  rulers. 

We  find  more  definite  drama  chronicle  of  the 
eighth  century.  The  emperour  Hsuan  Tsung,  or 
Ming  Huang  as  he  is  commonly  called  from  a 
posthumous  title,  established  a  school  in  the 
gardens  of  his  palace  to  teach  young  men  and 
women  the  arts  of  dancing  and  music,  and  prob- 
ably chose  his  court  entertainers  from  this  group. 
Many  actors  of  today  associate  themselves  with 
this  early  imperial  school  and  call  themselves 
members  of  the  College  of  the  Pear  Orchard.  Ming 
Huang,  who  is  said  to  have  acted  upon  his  own 
stage,  is  today's  patron  saint  of  all  actors,  and  his 
statue,  with  incense  burning  before  it,  may  be 
seen  in  Chinese  greenrooms. 

i  "Theatre  Chinois" 


ORIGIN  OP  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA         19 

Plays  during  this  century,  which  is  sometimes 
called  the  first  period  of  Chinese  drama,  focused 
on  extraordinary  themes,  and  anticipated  the 
present  heroic  drama.  It  is  probable  that  interest 
in  the  drama  did  not  extend  further  than  the 
Imperial  court  until  the  thirteenth  century. 

During  the  Yuan  dynasty,  founded  in  1280  by 
the  Mongol  warrior  Kublai  Khan,  drama,  as  it  now 
exists  in  China,  appears  to  have  slipped  into  being 
as  quietly  as  a  fall  of  snow  overnight,  and,  as  far 
as  most  historians  are  concerned  with  the  subject, 
is  an  established  fact  only  from  this  time.  What 
actually  happened  in  the  thirteenth  century  was 
that  divisions  of  subject  and  character  were  fixed 
and  an  enduring  literature  produced. 


CHAPTER  II 

Types  of  Plays 

VENERATION  of  the  dead  controlled  China 
centuries  before  Confucius  wrote  "Ever 
think  of  your  ancestors  and  cultivate 
virtue,"  and  is  today  the  active  principle  in  the 
moral  and  mental  lives  of  four  hundred  millions 
of  Chinese.  Arts  are  featured  by  this  national 
superstition  and  frequently  seem  to  have  en- 
dured because  of  it;  the  routine  of  diurnal  living 
and  the  festival  and  ceremony  of  birth  and  burial 
proclaim  the  animate  influence  of  the  departed. 
Someone  has  said  that  China  is  a  country  where 
a  few  hundred  millions  of  living  are  terrorized  by 
a  few  thousand  millions  of  dead. 

In  the  drama  ancestor  worship  is  an  emphasized 
and  recurrent  theme. 

Of  the  three  types  of  plays  that  are  said  to  in- 
clude all  the  variations  of  contemporary  dramatic 
presentation  the  Vun  Pan  Shi  is  known  as  the 
oldest  form.  Patriotism  and  filial  devotion  are  its 
subjects;  and  in  it  music  and  action  unite  to  play 
upon  the  emotions  of  the  audience. 

20 


FIGURES  FROM  A  PLAY  OF  THE  TAI-PING  REBELLION  (1825-1841). 

THE   SHORTER   SOLDIER  IS  A  REBEL  AND  THE 

OTHER  A  GENERAL  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  ARMY 


TYPES  OF  PLAYS  21 

The  Jin  Pan  Shi  presents  civil  and  military 
conditions.  The  difference  between  the  Vun  Pan 
Shi  and  the  Jin  Pan  Shi  is  not  in  the  libretto  as 
one  might  suppose  but  in  the  manner  of  singing 
certain  roles  and  in  the  tradition  of  the  acting. 

A  third  dramatic  form  is  the  Vun  Min  Shi  or 
"modern"  play.  Colloquial  dialects  are  allowed  in 
the  Vun  Min  Shi  instead  of  Mandarin — the  dialect 
of  Peking — which  is  the  accepted  speech  of  the 
stage  as  well  as  of  the  nation. 

Another  classification >  is  the  Cheng-pan  or 
historical  plays;  the  Chu-tou,  civil  pieces;  and  the 
Ku-wei  or  farces. 

A  civil  and  a  military  play  must  be  included  on 
each  day's  program ;  the  latter  is  a  popular  subject 
that  may  appear  in  several  of  the  six  or  eight 
plays  presented  during  an  evening. 

Civil  and  military  plays  are  sometimes  mistak- 
enly said  to  represent  comedy  and  tragedy.  Like 
the  Hindu  the  Chinese  stage  does  not  distinguish 
carefully  between  the  two;  and  when  a  so-called 
tragedy  is  presented  it  usually  takes  the  form  of 
melodrama  with  a  "happy"  ending.  "Beauty"  2 
is  a  rare  example  of  a  Chinese  stage  tragedy. 
"Beauty"  was  a  faithful  Chinese  maiden  who  was 
lured  from  her  home  by  wandering  marauders; 
and  the  story  of  her  patriotism  and  tragic  death 

i  W.  Stanton. 

2  Translated  by  the  Reverend  J.  Macgowan. 


22  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

is  a  popular  one  in  Chinese  theatres.  But  the 
Chinese  are  instinctively  a  humourous  people — 
even  the  lines  of  their  architecture  turn  up  like 
a  smiling  mouth — and  as  entertainment  they 
prefer  to  laugh  than  to  cry. 

Men  and  women  who  have  conducted  them- 
selves heroically  while  alive  and  who  in  a  Eu- 
ropean country  might  be  known  as  saints  or 
martyrs  are  deities  in  China  and  may  appear  as 
characters  in  the  civil  plays  which  are  written 
around  domestic  incident,  and  in  the  military 
plays  of  historical  and  legendary  fact. 

Military  plays  are  concerned  with  historical 
episode  and  heroic  or  filial  acts.  Civil  plays,  fre- 
quently of  a  farcical  nature,  deal  with  the  en- 
tanglements of  every  day  life. 

As  they  may  be  read  in  classical  collections 
Chinese  plays — like  Chinese  poetry — are  straight- 
forward in  any  seeming  unmoral  tenets  they  may 
hold.  And,  before  accepting  the  statement  that 
the  Chinese  stage  is  immoral,  the  foreigner  should 
recall  that  plays  exist  as  they  are  to  be  read,  as 
they  appear  in  acting  editions,  and  also  as  they 
may  be  interpreted  and  developed  by  the  actor 
who  is  sometimes  allowed  great  license  in  "gag- 
ging". In  most  reputable  theatres  plays  teach 
the  wisdom  of  morality;  and  indeed  the  denoue- 
ment of  a  comedy  is  usually  the  triumph  of  virtue 
over  the   machinations   of  some   evil  influence. 


TYPES  OP  PLAYS  23 

The  Chinese  penal  code  states  the  aim  of 
dramatic  performances  to  be  to  offer  either  real 
or  imagined  pictures  of  just  and  honourable  men, 
chaste  women,  and  obedient  children  who  will 
encourage  the  spectator  in  the  practice  of  virtue. 
The  writer  of  an  indecent  play  is  supposed — even 
after  death — to  be  persecuted  by  evil  spirits  as 
long  as  his  play  appears  upon  any  stage. 

China  has  no  stage  censor.  Anyone  may  set 
up  a  theatre,  elabourate  his  artistic  principles  or 
develop  his  business  theories  without  fear  of  the 
hectoring  thumb;  and,  except  for  the  rule  which 
was  enforced  during  the  imperialistic  government 
forbidding  the  impersonation  of  a  reigning  em- 
perour,  any  spectacle  and  any  type  of  character 
may  be  presented. 

Plots  are  usually  simple  and  well  sustained  but 
subjects  are  numerous  and  of  wide  range.  While 
the  most  enduring  plays  feature  the  history  of  the 
country,  others,  no  less  frequently  seen,  include 
such  subjects  as  filial  and  parental  piety;  the  ex- 
altation of  learning ;  native  vices  and  peculiarities 
of  official  corruption;  vices  common  to  mankind; 
legal  anomalies;  and  the  absurdities  of  religious 
practices.  The  depravity  of  the  priesthood  and 
the  corruption  of  official  China  have  been  two 
controlling  elements  that  are  lashed  by  the  dram- 
atist, and  as  theatre  subjects  never  fail  to  find 
appreciative   audiences.     The   five  blessings   for 


24  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

which  the  Chinese  pray,  and  which  are  also  libret- 
to subjects,  are  sons,  riches,  long  life,  recovery 
from  sickness,  and  office.  It  is  noticable  that 
these  are  all  material  blessings  .  .  .  even  the 
wish  for  sons  springs  from  the  desire  to  provide 
for  old  age,  and  as  a  means  to  placate  the  gods 
after  the  death  of  parents.  Other  favours  that  the 
Chinese  ask  of  their  gods  are  that  crops  shall  be 
well  protected  and  harvests  rich,  and  that  men  and 
beasts  shall  be  immune  from  cholera.  To  obtain 
these  gifts  the  people  offer  the  pageants  and  fes- 
tivals which  have  become  so  popular  a  form  of 
dramatic  presentation  in  the  open  fields  of  the 
countryside  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  Such 
spectacles  may  be  financed  by  the  rich  man  of  the 
village  or  by  a  community. 

If  rains  are  heavy,  prayer  and  sacrifice  are  com- 
monly offered  to  the  god  of  rain  that  he  will  close 
the  gates  of  Heaven  in  order  that  the  rice  will  not 
rot  from  too  profuse  a  supply  of  moisture ;  and  to 
the  god  of  the  harvest  thanks  are  returned,  in 
drama  festival,  for  bountiful  crops. 

Puppet  shows  are  a  form  of  amusement  com- 
mon to  many  nations  and  to  which  certain  writers 
attribute  the  beginning  of  the  Chinese  drama.  In 
some  sections  of  the  country  a  dramatic  perform- 
ance invariably  opens  with  marionettes.  Punch 
and  Judy  are  more  frequently  seen  in  the  East 


THE   GOD   OF   AGRICULTURE 


TYPES  OF  PLAYS  25 

than  in  the  West  and  are  probably  a  product  of 
the  Chinese  imagination. 

Confucian  themes  include  the  popular  cult  for 
learning  and  filial  devotion.  Buddhism  is  the 
source  of  most  of  the  buffonery  and  farce;  in  the 
theatre  it  not  only  defies  but  debases;  it  makes 
hideous  the  actual  and  enhances  the  chimerical, 
and  suggests  comic  relief  from  religious  hysteria. 
Not  all  Chinamen  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Bud- 
dha— or  Fu  as  he  is  sometimes  called — but  all 
men  who  go  to  the  Chinese  theatre  know  his 
stage  omnipotence. 

Satire  is  always  a  development  of  an  old  civili- 
zation and  in  that  ageless  country  of  stability  and 
decay  is  a  style  which  is  profoundly  and  profusely 
worked  upon.  The  Chinaman  understands  and 
responds  to  satirical  comedy.  He  is  directed  on 
the  honourable  path  by  its  smile  and  intrigued 
by  its  humour.  Even  when  the  Chinese  dramatist 
writes  about  love  he  handles  it  with  humour — 
with  irony.  To  the  Oriental  a  love  that  torments 
and  tyrannizes  is  an  absurd  and  stupid  exaggera- 
tion, and  the  drama  that  depicts  it  has  small 
chance  of  success. 

Plays  are  divided  into  acts  and  scenes.  Change 
of  scene  is  indicated  by  pantomine,  or  by  a  rapid 
walk  about  the  stage  of  all  the  characters  in  the 
piece.  Acts  usually  number  four  and  the  first 
may  be  preceded  by  a  prologue  which  is  spoken 


26  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

by  one  of  the  principal  characters.  The  denoue- 
ment occurs  in  the  final  act.  Dualism  of  con- 
trasted scene  with  scene  achieves  the  dramatic 
effect  as  in  Western  theatres. 


CHAPTER   III 

The  Plays  as  Literature 

ALTHOUGH  nearly  all  Chinese  plays  in 
contemporary  use  date  from  one  of  the 
three  prolific  literary  periods  of  the 
country  it  is  agreed  they  lack  the  literary  value 
of  the  poetry  and  the  novels  written  during  the 
same  epochs.  The  Tang  dynasty,  A.  D.  720-905; 
the  Sung  dynasty,  A.  D.  969-1277;  and  the  Yuan 
dynasty  established  in  1277  and  defeated  by  the 
native  Chinese  in  1368 — of  which  the  third  is  the 
most  important — are  the  significant  periods  both 
of  general  literature  and  of  the  drama,  and  pro- 
vide the  theatre  of  today  with  the  great  bulk  of 
its  plays.  Contemporary  drama  writing  usually 
follows  the  Mongol  (Yuan)  construction. 

Five  hundred  plays  of  known  authorship  are 
ascribed  to  the  Yuan  dynasty.  Among  the 
eighty-five  names  of  playwrights  Bazin  mentions 
four  women,  Tchao-Ming-king,  Tchang-koue-pin, 
Hong-tseu-li-eul,  and  Hoa-li-lang,  each  of  whom 
wrote  several  plays.  On  the  list  of  men  who  were 
dramatists  of  this  same  period  are  Kouan-han- 

27 


28  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

king,  the  author  of  sixty  dramas;  Kao-wen-sieou 
with  thirty  to  perpetuate  his  name;  Tching-te- 
hoeii,  who  wrote  eighteen  plays;  and  Pe-jin-fou, 
fifteen.1 

"The  Romance  of  the  Western  Pavilion"  is  said 
to  be  the  first  play  to  have  been  translated  into 
a  European  language.  And  as  Chinese  literature 
it  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  examples;  this  play 
was  written  in  the  late  thirteenth  or  early  four- 
teenth century,  and  as  "Hsi-siang-chi"  is  well 
known  to  this  generation  of  theatregoers.  It  is 
the  story  of  a  scholar  named  Chang  who  makes 
love  to  his  hostess'  daughter  Ying-ling  and  leaves 
her  in  order  to  compete  in  the  government  exam- 
inations. This  separation  by  examinations  is  a 
frequent  theme  that  is  inherited  from  Confucian 
precept. 

In  1755  a  Jesuit  priest  named  Premare  trans- 
lated into  French  "Tchao-chi-Kou-eul"  or 
"L'Orphelin  de  la  Chine."  In  it  cruelty  and  craft 
are  conquered  by  self-sacrifice,  and  the  play  is 
probably  the  nearest  approach  to  tragic  exposition 
that  any  Chinese  dramatist  has  accomplished. 
When  Voltaire  adapted  this  play  to  the  French 
stage  he  wrote  of  it,  "Malgre  l'incroyable,  il  y 
regne  de  l'interet  et  malgre  la  foule  des  evene- 

i  These  titles  are  in  French.  In  English  spelling  tch  is 
often  written  as  ch;  eu  is  shortened  to  u;  urh  becomes  erh, 
et  cetera,  and  accents,  except  the  circumflex,  are  omitted. 


THE  PLAYS  AS  LITERATURE  29 

ments  tout  est  de  la  clarte  la  plus  lumineuse." 
He  added  that  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  lacked 
eloquence,  reason,  and  passion  it  was  a  more 
brilliant  play  than  any  that  French  dramatists  had 
produced  during  the  same  period — the  fourteenth 
century.  If  Voltaire  could  have  read  a  later  trans- 
lation, made  in  1834  by  Stanislas  Strange,  in 
which  the  songs  are  included  (a  poignant  part  of 
any  Chinese  drama  that  is  too  often  supposed  un- 
important because  sung)  he  would  have  recog- 
nized the  passion  and  reason  and  eloquence  that 
are  in  the  original  play. 

"Tchao-Mei-Hiang"  or  "Les  Intrigues  d'une 
Soubrette"  is  a  comedy  in  prose  and  verse  that 
is  translated  into  French,  and  offers  an  opportun- 
ity to  contrast  four  styles  of  writing  which  follow 
one  another  almost  on  succeeding  pages.  In 
scene  four  of  the  first  act  Siao-man  speaks  in 
the  classic  style  when  she  tells  her  maid,  Fan-sou, 
of  Chinese  tradition  and  her  own  passion  for  the 
intellectual  life;  the  speech  commences  "Du  fleuve 
Ho  est  sortie  la  table."  The  dialogue  which  fol- 
lows between  Siao-man  and  Fan-sou  is  in  semi- 
literary,  semi-popular  style  known  in  Chinese  as 
pan-wen-pan-sou.  In  the  same  scene  the  verses 
sung  by  Fan-sou,  who  is  the  principal  character 
and  to  whom  therefore  the  singing  part  is  given, 
and  which  commence  "Entendez  vous  les  modula- 
tions pures  et  harmonieuses",  are  subject  to  both 


30  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

rhyme  and  rhythm  in  the  original  and  are  rhythmic 
in  the  translation.  In  the  answer  that  Siao-man 
makes  to  Fan-sou:  "Fan-sou,  si  je  consens  a  aller 
me  promener  avec  toi,  et  que  Madame  Han  vienne 
a  le  savoir,  que  deviendrai-je  ? "  the  familiar  style 
is  used. 

Modes  of  speech  usually  correspond  to  types  of 
character  and  therefore  vary  throughout  any  play. 

Mandarin  is  the  dialect  of  most  theatres.  Local 
dialects  are  sometimes  heard  in  village  playhouses 
and  in  certain  popular  farces.  Although  the 
Peking  dialect  is  the  official  one  a  dozen  others 
are  heard  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and 
they  differ  as  a  romance  language  differs  from  an 
Anglo-Saxon.  If  the  stage  speech  of  the  actor 
from  Peking  is  not  understood  by  the  Chinaman 
from  the  South  stage  action  and  characters  are 
so  prescribed  by  tradition  and  familiar  from  fre- 
quent repetition  that  plays  even  in  an  unfamiliar 
dialect  are   intelligible  to   almost  any  audience. 

The  adherence  in  China's  theatre  curriculum 
to  the  traditions  of  religious  and  philosophic 
teaching  and  the  playwright's  reiteration  of  his- 
torical event  and  personage  as  dramatic  material 
operate  conjointly  as  an  educational  medium  in 
every  part  of  the  country  to  which  the  drama 
penetrates.  And  this  semi-standardization — semi 
because  there  is  always  the  possible  element  of 
the  distorting  actor  or  the  too  imaginative  drama- 


MEI    LAN-FANG    IN    THE    COSTUME    FOR    A    PLAY    WHICH 
STAGES  ONE  SCENE  IN  THE  MOON 


THE  PLAYS  AS  LITERATURE  31 

tist — has  linked  dynasties  in  a  more  or  less  fac- 
titious pictorial  history. 

Thus,  operating  upon  one  another  like  a  boom- 
erang, the  audience  is  placidly  quiescent  when 
confronted  with  the  monotony  of  tradition  and 
the  playwright  is  content  to  rearrange  the  same 
stories  that  were  the  dramatic  inheritance  of  his 
predecessors,  and  each  has  but  little  interest  in 
the  drama  as  a  form  of  literature.  It  is  true 
that,  like  the  poet  and  the  novelist,  the  playwright 
is  concerned  with  sentiment  and  ideals  and  that 
he  handles  them  with  a  suppleness  that  is  elo- 
quent; but  the  beauty  which  derives  from  fine 
cohesion  of  thought  and  harmony  of  words  has 
been,  in  his  estimation,  as  it  has  been  in  that  of 
the  people,  outside  the  province  of  the  theatre. 

The  actor  is  so  despised  in  China  that  he  has 
not  had  the  association  of  scholars,  and  the  play- 
wright has  suffered  for  the  actor's  stigma.  He  is 
not  classed  among  the  "literati",  and  if  occasion- 
ally a  literary  man  is  sufficiently  intrigued  by  the 
drama  form  of  literature  to  write  a  play  he  pub- 
lishes it  under  a  nom  de  guerre. 

The  fact  that  it  has  been  the  custom  to  hire  a 
playwright  by  the  season  to  travel  with  a  troupe 
of  actors  to  write  librettos  from  popular  novels 
or  retell  an  historic  episode,  gives  an  idea  of  what 
his  status  has  been,  and  of  the  difficulty  to  be 


32  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

overcome  before  playwriting  in  China  is  con- 
sidered to  be  a  literary  profession. 

A  collected  but  incomplete  dramatic  library 
exists  in  fifteen  volumes  under  the  title  "Shi 
K'au".  Another,  of  Mongol  plays,  the  "Yuan  Ch'u 
shuan  tsa  chi",  is  in  eight  volumes.  A  Chinese 
edition  of  the  latter  was  published  in  1615  that 
includes  one  hundred  dramas  and  an  illustration 
for  each  play.  Plays  to  be  read  are  shorter  than 
the  acting  version.  Acting  editions  may  be 
bought  in  China  three  for  a  penny.  They  are 
thin  paper  covered  volumes  in  uniform  size  and 
varying  colours,  and  resemble  the  "Farmer's  Al- 
manac" of  New  England  book  tradition.  These 
editions  carry  a  few  stage  directions;  "entrance" 
and  "exit"  are  written  as  "ascend"  and  "descend", 
and  "turn  the  back  and  say"  replaces  the  "aside" 
of  the  Western  theatre. 

There  are  many  Chinese  plays  that  are  avail- 
able for  reading  in  English,  French,  and  German 
translations.  "Tchao-Mei-Hiang"  or  "Les  In- 
trigues d'une  Soubrette"  a  is  one  of  the  rare  Chi- 
nese love  dramas  and  is  often  played.  It  was 
written  during  the  Yuan  dynasty.  "Hoei-Lan-Ki" 
or  "The  Circle  of  Chalk"  2  is  a  drama  of  high 
adventure  and  the  vindication  of  personal  inno- 
cence. "Pi-Pa-Ki"  or  "L'Histoire  du  Luth"  written 

i  Translated  by  M.  Bazin  ainS. 
2  Translated  by  Stanislas  Julien. 


THE  PLAYS  AS  LITERATURE  33 

by  Kao-tong-kia  of  the  Yuan  dynasty  is  a  popular 
example  of  the  recurrent  theme  of  filial  piety. 
Filial  and  family  devotion  are  the  love  inhibitions 
of  the  Chinese  mind.  A  father  rules  over  his  son 
as  long  as  the  former  lives,  and  retains  a  certain 
dominion  after  death,  and  a  son's  acceptance  of 
this  traditional  subjection  is  uncomplaining  and 
complying;  he  waits  for  his  turn  to  be  the  head 
of  the  family  when  he  shall  have  the  much  desired 
sons  of  his  own.  Such  filial  relations  of  respect 
and  self-sacrifice  are  more  important  to  the  Chi- 
nese than  sex  love  and  marriage,  and  are  the 
dramatist's  most  passional  material. 

"Sanh  Yoer  Gi  Ts"  or  "Leaving  a  Son  in  a 
Mulberry  Orchard"  is  the  story  of  a  father's  sac- 
rifice. The  play  dates  from  the  Tsur  dynasty  and 
is  an  example  of  family  pride  and  integrity.  "Ho 
Din  Mung"  is  another  popular  play.  Its  story  is 
from  the  Chow  dynasty,  B.  C.  1122-255.  In  it 
the  wife  of  Tsang  Ts  dies,  and  the  action  centers 
upon  a  dream  in  which  Tsang  Ts  sees  his  wife's 
coffin  split  in  pieces  by  an  axe.  The  Chinese 
understand  the  significance  of  dreams  in  relation 
to  repressed  desire  and  many  of  their  plays  were 
concerned  with  this  theme  a  long  time  before 
dream  purport  was  written  about  and  treated  as 
a  new  subject  in  Europe. 

"K'ung  Dsun  Ci"  or  "Empty  City  Trap"  is  an 
example  of  the  Jin  Pan  Shi,  or  military  play,  and 


34  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

is  the  story  of  an  episode  of  the  Hur  dynasty.  An 
important  city  of  China — so  the  story  goes — was 
about  to  be  attacked  while  its  soldiery  was  absent. 
The  Military  Advisor  opened  the  city  gates,  sta- 
tioned at  the  entrances  what  few  soldiers  he  could 
command,  armed  them  with  brooms  and  uni- 
formed them  as  street  sweepers.  When  the 
enemy  approached  it  heard  these  "sweepers" 
singing  of  the  strength  of  the  city,  of  its  great 
army,  and  of  plans  to  torture  the  captured  enemy 
after  battle.  The  enemy  was  frightened  and  ran 
away.  The  important  city  in  China  was  saved. 
As  a  drama  this  bit  of  history  is  rich  in  humour 
and  provides  a  constant  entertainment  to  the 
Chinese  who,  as  a  race,  have  a  keen  sense  of  the 
ludicrous. 

Other  plays  in  French  are  "Ho  Han-Chan"  or 
"La  Tunique  Confrontee"  a  drama  in  four  acts 
written  by  a  woman,  Tchang-Koue-Pin ;  "Ho- 
Lang-Tan"  or  "La  Chanteuse",  author  unknown; 
"Teou  Ngo-Youen"  or  "Le  Ressentiment  de  Teou 
Ngo",  by  Kouan-Han-King.1 

English  translations  include  "Han-Koong-Tsen" 
or  "The  Sorrows  of  Han",  an  historical  play  of 
conditions  existing  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era;  its  moral  teaches  the  evil  con- 
sequence of  luxury  and  supineness  in  the  reign- 

i  These  three  plays  were  written  during  the  Yuan  dy- 
nasty and  have  been  translated  by  M.  Bazin  aine. 


CHINESE    ACTORS;     LEFT    TO    RIGHT— CHIANG    MIAO-PING, 
ME1   LAN-FANG,   AND  YAO   YU-YING 


THE  PLAYS  AS  LITERATURE  35 

ing  emperour;  "Ho  Man  San-Peng  Tsu  Muk 
Lan's  Parting";  "The  Golden  Leafed  Chrysan- 
themum"; "The  Sacrifice  of  the  Soul  of  Ho 
Man  Sau";  and  "Lao-seng-erh"  or  "An  Heir  in 
His  Old  Age".  The  last  play  is  a  story  of  domestic 
life  in  which  an  old  man  is  so  desirous  of  a  son 
to  perform  the  obsequies  at  his  tomb  that  he  takes 
a  young  wife  into  his  family.  Two  plays  already 
mentioned  under  the  French  translated  titles 
appear  in  English  as  "The  Orphan  of  the  Chou 
Family"  and  "The  Intrigues  of  a  Maid". 

If,  as  we  are  told,  they  lack  any  particular 
literary  merit,  they  are  remarkable  documents  of 
the  inconceivable  magnificence  of  Imperial  China 
and  the  faithful  and  fantastic  and  isolated  mind 
of  the  Chinese  people. 


CHAPTER    IV 

Religious  Influence  upon  the 
Drama 

IT  is  not  possible  to  understand  the  Chinese 
drama  without  some  knowledge  of  the  re- 
ligious doctrines  and  the  demonolatry  of  the 
Chinese  people.  Not  only  was  the  stage  incepted 
by  religious  rite  but  it  has  remained  dependent 
upon  Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Taoism  for 
theme  and  character  and  symbol. 

Supersitions  inherited  from  Buddhistic  princi- 
ples frequently  denude  the  stage  of  mortality  and 
are  the  playwright's  inspiration  for  extravaganza; 
he  may  create  a  mise  en  scene  in  terrestial  im- 
mortality and  people  it  with  nostalgic  gods  and 
provoking  genii  and  find  it  more  absorbing  to  an 
audience  than  the  type  of  play  that  transpires  on 
an  earthly  plane  and  presents  the  principles  of 
morality  that  Confucius  meditated  upon.  The 
playwright  may  even  unite  the  two — and  add  a 
theme  from  Taoism — in  his  high  romance.  But 
when  fact  and  fancy  meet  and  have  been  mingled 
in  such  heterogeneous  drama  as  this  even  a 
Chinaman  is  sometimes  unable  to  decide  whether 

36 


RELIGIOUS   INFLUENCE  37 

a  play  that  turns  on  the  achievements  of  a  general 
and  attendant  genii,  or  of  an  emperour  and  cer- 
tain immortals,  is,  except  for  the  genii  and  the  im- 
mortals, all  reality,  or  except  for  the  general  and 
the  emperour,  all  supposition.  Upon  such  mis- 
leading and  rare  occasion  the  general  may  be  as 
foreign  to  the  battle  lists  as  the  genii  are  to  the 
birth  registry,  for  when  a  Chinese  dramatist  most 
clearly  limns  the  unlikely  he  may  the  most  ar- 
dently surround  it  with  every  ramification  of  the 
actual. 

Confucianism  is  based  upon  ancestor  worship 
and  teaches  that  the  source  of  morality  is  in  filial 
piety.  Confucianism  is  so  definite  a  theory  of 
conduct  that  it  cannot  be  expressed  in  many  sym- 
bolic forms  such  as  Buddhism  furnishes,  but  it 
provides  themes  for  numberless  librettos.  Bud- 
dhism teaches  that  release  from  one's  present 
existence  is  the  greatest  happiness.  Its  four 
"truths"  are  that  life  is  sorrow;  that  the  chain 
of  reincarnation  results  from  desire ;  that  the  only 
escape  is  through  annihilation  of  desire;  and  that 
the  way  of  escape  is  through  the  "eightfold  path" 
of  right  belief,  right  resolve,  right  words,  right 
acts,  right  life,  right  effort,  right  thinking,  right 
meditation.  Buddha  denied  the  virtue  of  caste, 
ritual,  and  asceticism  as  taught  by  the  Hindu  sage 
Guatama,  and  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  pity, 
kindness,  and  patience  to  receive  salvation. 


38  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

The  most  common  form  of  Buddhist  drama  is 
the  fantasia  or  the  buffoonery  of  deity  and  demon 
symbols  through  which  Buddha  is  frequently 
worshipped. 

Taoism  teaches  that  contemplation  and  reason, 
avoidance  of  force,  and  disregard  of  mere  cere- 
mony, are  the  means  of  regeneration.  It  may  be  > 
(  said  that  Confucianism  is  based  upon  morality, 
\  Buddhism  upon  idolatry,  and  Taoism  on  super- 
stition; that  the  one  is  man-worship,  the  second 
image-worship,  and  the  third  spirit- worship.  Or, 
in  another  form,  Confucianism  deals  with  the 
dead  past,  Buddhism  with  the  changing  future, 
and  Taoism  with  the  evils  of  the  present. 

However  we  classify  we  shall  inevitably  mix 
them  and  be  justified  by  the  fact  that  a  Chinaman 
sometimes  confuses,  and  often  has  some  belief  in, 
all  three.  A  Confucian  may  worship  in  a  Buddhist 
temple  and  follow  a  Taoist  ritual. 

Two  thousand  years  of  peaceful  existence  in 
one  country  of  a  trilogy  of  doctrines,  and  the  com- 
mon meeting  ground  of  the  theatre  of  gods  and 
demons  and  genii,  of  teaching  and  tenet  that  rep- 
resent all  three,  indicate  a  certain  degree  of 
national  religious  indifference. 

To  add  to  the  long  list  of  mythological  beings 
derived  from  doctrinal  sources  are  the  idols  of 
historic  association  which  have  been  deified  for 
battle  valour  or  for  civil  accomplishment.    During 


MEDITATION 
A  Buddhist  Exercise 


RELIGIOUS   INFLUENCE  39 

the  twelfth  century  Kaing  T'ai  Kung  deified  many 
soldiers,  and  in  the  fourteenth  century  the  first 
emperour  of  the  Ming  dynasty  appointed  a  great 
number  of  city  gods.  It  was  then  only  a  short 
step  from  a  "Great  man  to  a  little  idol"  and  ulti- 
mately to  become  both  a  household  and  a  stage 
deity.  There  seems  a  god  for  every  occasion  and 
a  dozen  needs  for  his  favour  every  day. 

In  the  Imperial  Theatre  in  Pekin  there  are  three 
stages,  one  above  the  other:  the  highest  is  for 
gods,  the  middle  space  is  for  mortals,  and  the 
lowest  plane  receives  the  slain  villian.  Heaven 
above,  the  earth  beneath,  and  the  waters  under 
the  earth,  with  all  that  these  planes  may  be  sup- 
posed to  control,  appear  to  figure  in  dramatic  per- 
formances, and  may  even  be  shown  during  a 
single  play. 

Such  fantastic,  and  so  traditioned  an  imagina- 
tion, and  such  uncircumscribed  deification  baffle 
the  "barbarian"  and  disqualify  him  to  accept  a 
stage  performance  with  a  tenth  part  of  the  intelli- 
gence and,  in  the  beginning,  almost  none  of  the 
pleasure  he  will  remark  in  every  Chinaman  in  the 
audience.  But  as  he  continues  to  study  the  Chi- 
nese drama  he  will  not  fail  to  perceive  the  virtue — 
and  the  attendant  weaknesses — of  ancestor  wor- 
ship, of  the  belief  in  recurrent  life,  and  the  earned 
privileges  of  another  existence,  which  govern  and 
satisfy  the  great  majority  of  the  Chinese  people. 


40  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

If  it  seems  strange  to  find  dogma  in  the  theatre, 
the  fear  of  evil  demons  and  the  respect  for,  and 
placation  of,  symbols,  we  have  only  to  recall  that 
doctrines  and  drama  have  developed  concurrently. 
Any  attempt  to  separate  them  might  destroy  the 
potency  of  both;  and  would  certainly  rob  the 
Chinese  theatre  of  many  of  its  most  popular 
characters 

While  an  occasional  "modern"  Chinaman  may 
believe  himself  indifferent  to  religion,  or  may  call 
himself  a  Christian  and  forsake  his  native  gods 
as  religious  deities,  most  men  instinctively  believe 
in  the  protective  power  of  inherited  idols  and 
retain  the  habit  to  enjoy  them  at  the  theatre, 
where,  received  only  as  entertainment,  there  may 
be  a  subconscious  sense  of  placating  the  family 
deities  in  the  playhouse  for  neglect  of  them  in  the 
temple  and  the  home. 


*      rf        . 

!lfl{ 

i 

r  - 

•  -  -    Ml 

THIS  TRIO  OF  ACTORS  REPRESENTS  AN  HISTORICAL  EVENT 
OF  THE  WEI  DYNASTY  (A.D.  220-264).  THE  LEFT  AND 
RIGHT  HAND  FIGURES  ARE  AN  OPPOSING  STRATEGIST  AND 
GENERAL  WHO  WERE  RECONCILED  BY  A  NEUTRAL  AND 
DISTINGUISHED  KING— THE   CENTER  FIGURE 


CHAPTER    V 

Types  and  Characters 

ALTHOUGH  deity  and  demon  are  lavishly 
presented  in  the  Chinese  theatre  they  do 
not  overbalance  the  mortal  stage  types 
of  heroine,  ingenue,  villian,  et  cetera,  who  people 
the  stage  of  every  country. 

The  ubiquitous  human  being  who  conserves  his 
own  blood  and  spills  that  of  his  enemy,  who  weds 
and  repents  to  solace  himself  as  best  he  may, 
who  clings  to  life  and  dies  with  valour,  is  the 
villian  and  the  hero  of  Eastern  drama  as  he  is 
the  villian  and  the  hero  in  a  western  playhouse. 
Tradition  of  doctrine  and  philosophy  and  the  cir- 
cumstance of  government  decorate  this  universal 
figure  with  the  trappings  of  nationality  and  cause 
his  digression  from  the  general  dramatic  path  to 
fulfil  an  occidental  or  an  oriental  destiny. 

Stage  characters  in  China  represent  every 
class  of  society  and  are  a  long  list  of  emperours, 
generals,  scholars,  heads  of  families  and  sons, 
and,  among  women,  empresses,  court  attendants, 
courtesans,    serving    women    and    soldiers,    the 

41 


42  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

mother,  the  wife,  the  concubine.  In  associated 
action,  these  terrestial  personages  appear  with 
gods  and  not  infrequently  assume  immortal  priv- 
ilege as  well  as  present  earthly  foible. 

Stage  characters  are  classified  according  to 
type;  and  are  interesting  to  an  audience  as  types 
quite  as  much  as  the  individuals  of  the  immedi- 
ate drama  in  which  they  may  be  playing.  Each 
has  a  traditional  makeup  that  is  well  known  to 
theatre  habitues. 

Hsiao  Sheng  represents  young  civilians;  there 
are  several  in  each  company  and  they  alternate 
to  impersonate  hero  roles. 

Cheng  Sheng  appears  as  an  emperour  or  dis- 
tinguished person  and  wears  the  traditional  long 
and  flowing  beard. 

Wu  Sheng  impersonates  elderly  military  com- 
manders, and  wears  a  beard. 

Tsung  Sheng  may  be  a  minister  of  state  and 
must  wear  a  beard. 

Wai  or  Ta  Hua  Mein  has  a  dark  painted  face 
and  a  villian's  role ;  Lui  Fen  also  signifies  a  villian. 

Pu  Tieh  Shik  is  of  martial  character  and  per- 
forms feats  of  strength. 

Kung  Chiao  plays  a  father  or  corresponding 
elderly  role. 

Nan  Cho  or  Pien  Eho  may  be  either  a  clown  or 
deformed  person,  and  has  a  much  painted  face. 


TWO  MALE  ACTORS.     ON  THE  LEFT,   CHIU  CHEN  FENG 

AS  A  WOMAN;   ON  THE  RIGHT,   CHENG  CHIEN-CHIU 

IN  MASCULINE  DRESS 


TYPES  AND  CHARACTERS  43 

Wu  Chun  Hu  is  a  painted-face  warrior  adept 
with  sword  and  spear  and  at  tumbling. 

Chun  Shou  Hsia  means  a  soldier's  makeup. 

Sheng  signifies  male  character  and  Tan  a 
woman's  role. 

The  infrequent  appearance  of  women  upon  the 
Chinese  stage  during  the  last  few  centuries  has 
not  noticeably  affected  dramatic  presentation  ex- 
cept in  the  amourous  parts  which,  even  to  an 
accustomed  eye  and  ear,  are  sometimes  grotesque 
when  mimed  by  a  man.  But  the  youths  of  eight- 
een or  twenty  who  are  usually  seen  in  feminine 
roles  are  surprisingly  natural.  They  trip  about 
with  toes  thrust  into  tiny  slippers,  to  produce  the 
effect  of  bound  feet;  their  voices  are  trained  to 
high  tones,  and  their  faces  are  painted  in  delicate 
or  exaggerated  imitation  of  the  infrequent  sex. 
These  actors,  who  impersonate  women,  receive 
the  highest  salaries.  As  in  the  early  Greek  and 
Roman  dramas  women's  roles  are  sometimes 
played  by  eunuchs. 

The  following  list  includes  the  important  fem- 
inine roles. 

Cheng  Tan,  an  empress  or  principal  wife. 

Hua  Tan,  who  takes  youthful  roles  and  may  be 
the  heroine. 

Hsiao  Tan,  the  house  servant  type  who  may  be 
an  intermediary  in  social  intrigue. 


44  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

Wu  Tan,  who  impersonates  a  woman  soldier, 
and  of  whom  there  may  be  four  in  a  company. 

Wen  Wu  Tan  assumes  either  military  or  civil 
character  and  may  be  the  heroine. 

Chan  Tan  is  a  young  married  woman.  "He" 
usually  has  considerable  ability  as  a  singer. 

Fu  or  Lao  Tan  represent  elderly  women. 

Nu  Chou  signifies  a  wicked  and  disagreeable 
person. 

Tang  Tan  represents  several  minor  characters. 

Ma  Tan  is  a  serving  woman  or  soldier.1 

The  majority  of  these  roles  require  a  painted 
face;  and  colours  symbolize  types.  A  sly  but 
dignified  person  paints  with  white;  a  sacred 
person,  either  a  deity  or  an  emperour,  uses  red 
colouring;  black  belongs  to  the  honest  workman; 
green  sometimes  means  a  demon;  and  gold  is  the 
property  of  the  gods.  Variations  on  these  definite 
types  may  be  suggested  by  mixed  colours. 

On  the  program  the  characters  are  announced 
as  well  as  the  names  of  the  actors.  The  entrance 
of  an  important  player  is  immediately  followed 
by  a  self  introduction  in  which  he  talks  of  the 
person  he  is  to  present ;  sometimes  he  will  recount 
in  detail  his  family  history,  why  he  appears,  where 
he  is  from,  and  what  he  desires  to  accomplish 

i  Characters  quoted  from  W.  Stanton's  book,  "The 
Chinese  Drama";  with  one  or  two  added  from  information 
received  from  Mr.  Shen  Hung,  a  Chinese  actor. 


% 


IS 


tf^XJM 


Iff 


if  & 


ffi&l*>4k£g> 


^  *i 


«miM 


ft 


**> 


M 

m 


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ft 

f 


PROGRAM  OF  A  THEATRE  IN  PEKING,   1920. 
ON  WHICH  EIGHT  PLATS  ARE  ANNOUNCED 


TYPES  AND  CHARACTERS  45 

during  the  entire  period  of  the  play;  he  may  even 
repeat  certain  of  these  speeches  upon  a  second 
and  a  third  entrance — these  repetitions  of  char- 
acter exposition  are  often  erroneously  omitted  in 
translated  plays. 

Throughout  a  performance  an  intimate  relation 
is  maintained  between  the  characters  and  the 
audience. 


CHAPTER   VI 

The  Actors 

"The  art  of  the  actor  cuts  the  sinews 
of  all  earnest  government." 

THE  Chinese  actor  seldom  experiences  in 
private  life  any  of  the  respect  that  his 
roles  obtain  within  the  theatre.  An 
occasional  remarkably  gifted  player  attached  to 
a  permanent  theatre  in  Peking  or  Canton — and 
who  makes  a  good  deal  of  money — may  end  by 
receiving  a  degree  of  deference  but  he  is  the  rara 
avis  of  his  profession. 

Usually  deriving  from  low  birth,  and  inheriting 
the  position  of  a  social  outcast  which  developed 
for  actors  during  the  Mongol  dynasty,  he  is  cut 
off  from  other  society  than  that  of  theatre  people. 
Until  recently  the  descendants  of  an  actor,  to  the 
third  generation,  were  forbidden  to  compete  in  the 
public  examinations  which  offer  to  the  poor  man 
in  China  the  unique  opportunity  to  acquire  wealth 
and  influence. 

The  manager  of  a  traveling  troupe  of  players 
not  infrequently  buys  very  young  boys  and  trains 

46 


THE  ACTORS  47 

them  to  become  members  of  his  company.  Dur- 
ing six  years  each  is  forced  to  learn  innumerable 
plays  and  their  accompaning  songs;  to  become 
enough  of  an  athlete  to  perform  the  acrobatic 
tricks  which  are  so  popular  a  part  of  military 
plays ;  to  walk  with  bound  feet  in  case  he  develops 
an  ability  to  take  women's  roles;  and  to  ex- 
ercise an  hour  a  day  with  head  thrown  back  and 
mouth  stretched  wide  to  strengthen  his  voice.  All 
of  this  time  he  is  under  the  implacable  rule  of  a 
master,  and  his  diet  is  fixed  and  frugal.  To  better 
this  condition  to  any  extent  in  later  years  an 
actor  must  display  a  marked  talent  or  meet  and 
please  an  influential  patron  of  the  stage  who  will 
purchase  his  independence. 

Sons  of  actors  have  few  opportunities  to  enter 
any  other  profession  than  that  of  the  theatre. 

There  is  no  prompter,  and  every  player  must 
memorize  from  one  to  two  hundred  roles.  He 
must  also  cultivate  the  quality  of  suggestion  for, 
by  the  inflection  of  his  voice,  by  action  and 
gesture,  it  devolves  upon  him  to  suggest  absent 
properties  and  scenery. 

Actors  are  often  hired  by  wealthy  men  to  pro- 
vide an  evening's  entertainment  in  a  private  house. 
When  the  guests  sit  down  to  dinner  five  players 
in  rich  costume  enter  and  bow  profoundly.  One 
of  them  presents  a  book  in  which  the  titles  of 
several  scores  of  plays  are  written.     The  list  is 


48  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

examined  by  the  principal  guests  and  if  the  name 
of  anyone  of  them  is  found  among  the  names  of 
the  characters  in  a  play  the  piece  containing  it  is 
immediately  discarded  from  the  possible  ones 
chosen  for  presentation.  Etiquette  is  so  crystal- 
ized  and  carefully  maintained  in  China  that  even 
such  slight  association  with  an  actor  is  against 
social  tradition.  Occasionally  a  youth  belonging 
to  the  troupe  may  go  about  among  the  guests  and 
be  talked  to  if  a  capricious  host  invites,  but  apart 
from  his  role  as  entertainer,  he  associates  only 
with  his  own  class. 

As  one  believes,  or  not,  in  the  proverb  that  the 
exception  proves  the  rule  he  is  glad  to  learn  that 
there  is  a  notable  exception  to  this  prevailing 
prejudice  in  the  person  of  Mei  Lan-fang,  a  young 
actor  who  is  finding  favour  with  a  group  of  liter- 
ary men  and  a  discerning  theatre  public  in  Peking. 
Although  his  celebrity  has  developed  since  the 
fall  of  the  empire  nine  years  ago,  the  plays  in 
which  he  appears  and  the  manner  of  his  acting 
belong  to  the  Imperial  Stage  tradition.  Mei  Lan- 
fang  limits  himself  to  about  twenty  plays  and 
presents  each  role  with  remarkable  intelligence 
and  sympathy;  his  songs  have  been  rewritten  for 
him  by  celebrated  poets  in  order  that  they  shall 
be  of  literary  merit. 

The  Chinese  say  of  Mei  Lan-fang  that  not  only 
is  he  unusually  gifted,  but  that  he  is  a  student, 


MEI  LAN-FANG,   THE  MOST  CELEBRATED  ACTOR  IN  CHINA 

AT   THE   PRESENT   TIME.     HE   IMPERSONATES 

ONLY     FEMININE     CHARACTERS 


THE  ACTORS  49 

pleasing  of  voice  and  face,  careful  of  his  civilian 
position,  and  unwilling  to  play  an  immoral  role, 
and  that  by  the  force  of  these  qualities  he  is 
influencing  the  general  public  to  regard  the  actor 
with  less  disfavour.  Mei  plays  only  women's  roles 
and,  in  stage  makeup,  is  as  feminine  in  appear- 
ance as  his  voice  is  in  sound. 

It  is  frequently  said  that  there  have  been  no 
actresses  in  China,  but  during  the  Mongol  and 
the  beginning  of  the  Ming  dynasty  women  took 
all  feminine  roles.  The  Ming  emperour  Ch'ien 
Lung  forbade  their  appearance  upon  the  stage  for 
the  reason  that  his  mother  had  been  an  actress — 
it  was  during  the  thirteenth  century  that  a  law 
was  passed  ranking  actresses  and  courtesans  in 
the  same  official  group.  From  that  time  until 
towards  the  finish  of  the  Manchu  power  in  1911 
actresses  were  seldom  seen.  The  profession  was 
considered  to  offer  individual  privilege  and  a  free- 
dom from  moral  restraint  that  has  periodically 
been  frowned  upon  by  a  nation  in  which  the 
majority  of  women  are  still  at  the  disposal  of 
fathers  and  husbands. 

It  is  the  "courtesanes  savantes"  who,  in  some 
measure,  have  continued  the  feminine  element 
in  the  theatre  during  the  prohibitive  years.  They 
have  been  playwrights,  and  are  often  portrayed  as 
stage  characters — they  should  not  be  confounded 
with  the  "women  who  smile  in  public"  who  are 


50  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

seldom  presented  upon  the  stage.  These  "courte- 
sanes  savantes"  attend  and  understand  the 
theatre  and  may  become  actresses;  they  belong 
to  an  established  order  of  educated  women  and 
must  qualify  in  many  studies  before  they  are 
"diplomee".  Each  possesses  what  seems  to  be 
all  the  charms  of  spirit  as  well  as  of  person  .  .  . 
"In  order  that  a  young  girl  be  admitted  into  the 
society  of  courtesans  ...  it  is  necessary  that  she 
is  distinguished  by  beauty,  by  the  delicate  percep- 
tions of  her  spirit,  and  a  careful  education;  she 
must  understand  vocal  music,  the  flute,  the  guitar, 
the  dance,  history  and  philosophy;  she  must  also 
be  able  to  write  all  the  characters  of  'Tao-te 
king' — a  book  which  contains  the  doctrines  of 
the  philosopher  Lao-tsu  and  is  one  of  the  most 
obscure  volumes  in  the  Chinese  language.  When 
she  has  spent  several  months  in  the  Pavilion  of 
One  Hundred  Flowers;  when  she  knows  how  to 
dance  and  sing  and  play  a  castanette  accompani- 
ment she  becomes  a  'free'  woman;  she  then  feels 
above  the  young  girl  who  is  dependent  upon  her 
father  or  the  legal  concubine  who  is  under  the 
protection  of  her  husband,  and  above  the  widow 
who  is  dependent  upon  her  son" ; 1  but  while  her 
"freedom"  excuses  her  from  duties  peculiar  to  her 
sex  it  debars  her  from  civil  and  religious 
ceremonies. 

i  M.  Bazin  in  "Theatre  Chinois". 


STROLLING  MUSICIANS.   PAINTED  BY  KU  CHIEN  LUNG, 

MING  DYNASTY.     ORIGINAL  PAINTING  IN  THE  BOSTON 

MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS 


THE  ACTORS  51 

Today  the  actress  is  again  commonly  seen  in 
China  and  is  usually  histrionically  gifted.  In 
Peking  women  sometimes  maintain  their  own 
theatres  and  appear  with  men  or  form  separate 
companies  of  their  own  sex  and  play  men's  roles. 

There  are  many  classes  of  male  actors :  the  first 
in  importance  is  the  permanent  theatre  group 
who  appear  only  in  a  few  large  cities;  temporary 
players  perform  in  temples  in  cities  and  villages; 
the  Ts'au  Dan  Shi  or  Grass  Stage  Players  also 
perform  in  villages  but  build  a  stage  upon  the 
grass;  the  Kang  Woo  Pei  or  River  and  Canal 
actors  who  live  upon  boats,  use  this  floating 
domicile  as  a  stage  and  are  content  with  an 
audience  that  gathers  upon  the  river  bank.  There 
is  a  great  army  of  solitary  players — the  Speaking 
Books — these  men  appear  in  tea  houses  and  res- 
taurants; their  accomplishments  are  singing  and 
story  telling. 

The  itinerant  actor  group  includes  the  fre- 
quently met  master  of  a  trick  monkey;  the  stroll- 
ing musicians  with  a  drum  and  gong  to  sound 
and  a  few  stories  to  relate;  and  the  men  who  are 
heard  upon  bridges  and  street  corners  chanting 
historical  fact  and  adventure.  These  solitudin- 
arians, who  are  particularly  ill  paid,  ill  treated 
beyond  their  fellows,  and  as  despised  as  human 
beings  may  be,  have  not  even  the  companionship 
of  their  own  kind  to  mitigate  their  sad  existence; 


52  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

they  earn  only  a  sufficient  number  of  cash  1  each 
day  to  buy  the  two  bowls  of  rice  which  maintains 
their  strength  to  wander. 

In  Peking  there  are  many  permanent  theatres 
and  a  pronounced  interest  in  the  drama,  and 
actors  like  to  consider  themselves  native  of  this 
city  no  matter  how  far  outside  its  gates  they  may 
be  forced  to  travel.  There,  where  the  most  tal- 
ented may  live  the  year  round  in  quarters  in  the 
theatre  district,  maturity  occasionally  brings  one 
of  them  the  lenitive  of  success — as  in  the  case  of 
Mei  Lan-fang — but  to  the  majority,  either  per- 
manently placed  or  among  the  ambulant  enter- 
tainers of  the  nation,  whatever  comedy  and  con- 
tent the  actor  may  experience  is  within  the 
illusory  existance  of  the  playhouse  itself. 


i  A  cash  is  considerably  less  than  an  American  penny. 


STROLLING    MOUNTEBANK    WITH    MONKEY,    BY    KU 

CHIEN    LUNG,    MING   DYNASTY.     ORIGINAL    PAINTING 

IN  THE  BOSTON  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS 


CHAPTER   VII 

The  Music 

"The  former  kings  ordained  music 
to    inspire    reverence    for   virtue." 

TO  unaccustomed  ears  the  music  in  Chi- 
nese theatres — usually  played  fortissimo 
and  with  much  brass — is  as  formless  and 
lacking  in  melody  as  sound  may  be.  It  is  an  art 
developed  for  Chinese  people  and  is  based  upon 
a  different  scale  from  the  one  the  Western 
auricular  sense  has  been  trained  to  register  with 
pleasure.  Before  we  consider  the  importance  of 
music  in  the  theatre  it  is  well  to  understand  some- 
thing of  the  principles  which  govern  Chinese  mu- 
sical sound. 

Music  is  a  measurable  art,  and  it  is  therefore 
possible  to  understand  why  the  Occidental  does 
not  often  respond  to  Chinese  music  by  a  realiza- 
tion that  tone  measurement  varies  in  different 
parts  of  the  world.  The  Western  scale  is  tempered 
and  because  we  are  trained  to  the  almost  imper- 
ceptible deviation  from  the  absolute  purity  of  its 
intervals  the  nerves  of  the  ear  cannot  endure, 

53 


54  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

without  offense,  the  excess  or  deficency  in  an 
interval  of  the  Chinese  untempered  scale.  And 
while  the  Chinese  have  what  corresponds  to  our 
chromatic  scale,  tone  measurement  is  again  not 
the  same. 

In  China  a  scale  of  only  five  tones  was  in  gen- 
eral use  until  B.  C.  1100,  when  two  more  were 
added  by  the  system  of  measuring  sound  with 
liis-bamboo  reeds  and  the  scale  became  like  the 
Western  diatonic  and  was  composed  of  five  full 
tone  and  two  half  tones,  but  one  of  the  latter 
occurred  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  degrees 
instead  of  in  its  Western  place  between  the  third 
and  fourth  degrees. 

When  the  Mongol  warrior  Kublai  Khan  became 
emperour  he  introduced  a  new  scale  of  ten  notes ; 
during  the  Ming  dynasty  this  was  rearranged:  all 
notes  producing  half  tones  were  excluded  and  the 
scale  became  pentonic  again;  but  while  it  con- 
tained only  seven  notes  it  measured  more  than 
an  octave. 

Such  experiment  and  change  unite  to  increase 
the  difficulties  of  Chinese  music  in  its  own  country 
as  well  as  in  the  West  and  add  to  Occidental 
prejudice. 

"According  to  Chinese  ideas  music  rests  upon 
two  fundamental  principles — the  shen-li  or  spirit- 
ual, immaterial  principle,  and  the  ch'i-shu  or  sub- 
stantial form.     All  natural  productions  are  rep- 


KOUAN 
(Bamboo) 


THE  MUSIC  55 

resented  by  unity;  all  that  requires  perfecting  at 
the  hands  of  man  is  called  under  the  generic  term 
(wan),  plurality.  Unity  is  above,  it  is  heaven; 
plurality  is  below,  it  is  earth.  The  immaterial 
principle  is  above,  that  is,  it  is  inherent  in  material 
bodies,  and  is  considered  their  (pen)  basic  origin. 
The  material  principle  is  below;  it  is  the  (shing) 
form  or  figure  of  the  shen-li.  The  form  is  limited 
to  its  proper  shape  by  (shu)  number,  and  it  is 
subjected  to  the  rule  of  the  shen-li.  Therefore 
when  the  material  principle  of  music  (that  is,  the 
instruments)  is  clearly  and  rightly  illustrated,  the 
corresponding  spiritual  principle  (that  is,  the 
essence,  the  sounds  of  music)  become  perfectly 
manifest."  * 

The  Chinese  have  always  liked  to  find  a  simili- 
tude of  contrast  existing  between  everything  in 
creation.  Between  heaven  and  earth,  they  say, 
there  is  perfect  harmony.  Three  is  the  emblem 
of  heaven  and  two  the  symbol  of  earth.  If  two 
sounds  are  in  the  proportion  of  three  to  two  they 
will  harmonize  as  perfectly  as  heaven  and  earth. 

"On  this  principle  the  Chinese  evolved  musical 
sound  through  a  series  of  bamboo  tubes  differing 
in  length ;  the  first  tube  was  cut  nine  inches  long, 
and  the  second  exactly  two  thirds  this  length, 
which  rendered  a  perfect  fifth — in  European 
music  also  expressed  by  a  ratio  of  three  to  two. 

i  J.  A.  Van  aalst. 


56  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

The  second  bamboo,  being  treated  on  the  same 
principle,  produced  a  third  tube  measuring  exactly 
two  thirds  of  the  length,  and  giving  a  note  a  per- 
fect fifth  higher  than  that  of  the  second  tube. 
This  new  sound  seeming  too  far  distant  from  the 
first  or  fundamental  note,  the  length  of  the  pro- 
ducing tube  was  doubled  and  the  note  became  an 
octave  lower."  1  The  tubes  engendered  one  an- 
other and  always  measured  two-thirds  or  four- 
thirds  of  their  generator.  These  bamboo  tubes 
are  known  as  liis. 

This  short  technical  account  will  serve  to  show 
that  Chinese  music  is  not  merely  the  "delirious 
noise"  the  Westerner  is  apt  to  style  it  and  then 
dismiss  from  his  mind  as  something  without  prin- 
ciple or  value.  And  when  we  realize  that  the 
eight  men  (Pang-Mein)  who  form  the  orchestra 
must  serve  a  long  apprentice  to  learn  the  tech- 
nique of  moon-guitars,  flute,  two-string  fiddle, 
cymbals,  drums,  and  gongs  which  make  up  the 
theatre  orchestra,  we  are  further  convinced  that 
there  are  directions  and  difficulties  for  the  Orien- 
tal musician  which  are  quite  as  exacting  as  those 
for  the  European. 

In  theatres  the  orchestra  is  seated  on  the  floor 
at  the  back  of  the  stage.  The  man  who  plays 
the  side  drum  is  the  conductor — when  such  a 
person  is  needed, — he  is  known  as  the  Ku  Shou. 

i  J.  A.  Van  aalst. 


VIE    KIN 
GUITAR    WITH    FOUR   CORDS   JN    SILK   OR    METAL, 
PLATED     WITH     FINGER     NAIL    OR     SMALL     PICK 


THE   MUSIC  57 

The  Shang  Shou  plays  the  moon-guitar,  flute,  and 
reeds ;  San  Shou  plays  cymbals  and  the  two  string 
violin  which  is  so  popular  an  instrument  among 
celestial  music  lovers;  it  varies  in  form  but  never 
has  more  than  two  strings  which  are  tuned  to  a 
distance  of  a  fifth  from  each  other.  The  Erh 
Shou  plays  the  three  string  violin,  reeds  and  flute. 
Other  men  play  upon  large  and  small  metal  or 
stone  gongs  and  various  drums;  and  there  is  a 
player  to  relieve  with  the  brasses. 

Each  style  of  music  is  named.  To  illustrate: 
Erh- Wang  is  played  during  solemn,  and  Pang  tsu 
during  martial,  action.  Every  musical  theme  has 
its  particular  emotional  appeal  and  its  significance 
is  understood  by  the  audience.  A  few  characters 
in  a  play  may  have  an  associated  melody  as  in 
Occidental  musico-dramatic  performance. 

A  change  in  the  music  is  indicative  of  a  change 
in  the  action,  and  announces  an  attendant  event — 
a  battle,  a  marriage,  a  burial.  Stringed  instru- 
ments usually  accompany  singing;  but  drums, 
cymbals,  gongs,  and  castanets  may  sound  in  the 
finale.  In  listening  to  Chinese  music  the  strike 
of  a  wooden  stick  upon  a  block,  by  which  the 
conductor  marks  time,  is  agreeably  evident. 

During  military  plays,  strings,  in  conjunction 
with  the  drums  and  cymbals  of  Western  martial 
association,  replace  the  wind  instruments.  After 
a  quotation  or  a  command  spoken  by  an  actor 


58  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

cymbals  sound  ten  or  fifteen  notes  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, and  often  drown  his  voice — but  as  the 
audience  has  usually  seen  the  play,  or  another 
almost  identical,  so  many  times  that  it  knows 
what  he  is  saying,  this  conflict  of  sound  is  not 
considered  to  matter.  Cymbals  also  provide  the 
only  evident  separation  between  the  several 
dramas  on  each  day's  program,  which,  with  only 
such  musical  warning,  follow  in  quick  sequence. 

Chinese  musical  instruments  have  been  made 
from  stone,  earth,  metal,  bamboo,  wood,  silk,  skin, 
and  gourds,  and  each  material  has  its  traditional 
association  with  nature. 

History  guarantees  the  existence  of  music  in 
China  as  far  back  as  the  forty-fifth  century  before 
Christ  when  it  attributes  the  seven-string  lute  to 
Fou-hi.  And  the  ardent  editor  Confucius  wrote 
of  music  that  was  played  in  B.  C.  2200;  and 
mentioned  that  it  was  passing  through  a  decadent 
period  during  his  own  lifetime. 

About  the  tenth  century  A.  D.,  during  the  second 
era  of  drama  significance,  a  singing  role  which 
has  continued  to  the  present  time,  was  introduced 
into  plays  to  accompany  and  elabourate  the 
speaking  part.  In  the  earliest  translated  Chinese 
plays  the  words  of  these  songs  were  often 
omitted  as  they  were  supposed  to  be  of  slight 
importance;  actually  they  are  necessary  for  se- 


THE  MUSIC  59 

quence  and  emphasis,  and  contain  much  of  the 
poetry  and  delicate  sentiment  of  the  play. 

Musical  themes  are  traditional  in  the  theatre 
and  are  constantly  repeated  to  accompany  new 
groupings  of  words.  The  songs  interest  an  au- 
dience less  as  composition  than  for  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  sung.  They  are  often  long 
recitatives  in  which  words  are  pronounced  to 
several  successive  notes,  and  differ  from  the 
sacred  music  of  China,  which  is  slow  and  sweet, 
in  that  the  songs  of  the  theatre  are  sung  in  high 
and  shrill  head  tones,  or  falsetto. 

They  differ  in  significance  from  the  Greek 
chorus,  and  are  sung  by  one  person  who  is  usually 
the  principal  character,  and  who  may  be  drawn 
from  any  social  condition.  In  the  "Sorrows  of 
Han"  the  singer  is  an  emperour;  in  the  "Intrigues 
of  a  Maid"  it  is  a  young  slave  girl.  In  this  use  of 
the  singing  among  the  spoken  roles  a  theory  of 
dramatics  offered  by  Lope  de  Vega  was  illustrated 
long  before  he  lived.  De  Vega  said  that  when  a 
man  wishes  to  give  counsel  he  speaks  in  a  differ- 
ent tone  with  a  studied  choice  of  words  and  an 
emphasis  that  he  would  not  use  in  ordinary 
conversation. 

Musical  notation  in  China  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand both  because  it  varies  in  old  and  new  music 
and  because  it  is  inexact.  The  native  musicians 
say  that  to  be  able  to  decipher  manuscript  music 


60  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

they  must  first  hear  it  played.  A  sheet  of  music 
looks  very  much  like  a  page  of  writing  to  the 
foreigner,  who  can  read  neither,  as  no  staff  is 
used  in  music;  and  notes,  after  the  manner  of 
ideographs,  are  printed  from  the  top  of  the  page 
down  and  from  right  to  left.  The  tone  symbols 
have  changed  with  the  succeeding  dynasties: 
there  are  twelve  in  present  usage.  They  may  be 
written  in  two  sizes  to  suggest  two  octaves,  and 
dots  are  sometimes  added  to  indicate  held  notes, 
two  for  a  half  and  three  for  a  whole  note.  The 
usual  time  is  four-four,  although  three-four  tempo 
is  also  popular.  Space  left  between  two  notes  may 
indicate  a  rest,  but  the  time  duration  must  either 
be  learned  or  be  decided  by  individual  pleasure. 
When  words  are  printed  with  music  they  are 
placed  between  the  notes. 

However  irregular  notation  may  be  the  origin 
of  music  is  authentic  and  ancient;  and  the  sound 
of  it  in  the  theatre,  either  sung  by  young  actors 
or  played  upon  strings  and  reeds  and  metal,  is 
of  remarkable  emotional  significance  and  appeal. 
Although  a  dissimilar  sense  perception  renders 
Chinese  music  unpleasant  to  the  average  West- 
ener,  an  occasional  Occidental  agrees  with  the 
Chinese  to  find  it  passionate,  provocative,  submis- 
sive, commanding,  or  sentimental,  in  accord  with 
the  action  of  the  play,  and  of  an  inherent  and 
singular  beauty. 


HOU    K'lN    OR    TWO-STRING   VIOLIN 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Decoration,  Costume,  and 
Symbolic  Design 

DECORATION  is  usually  considered  as  an 
external  of  the  drama.  In  China,  however, 
it  has  so  profoundly  infiltered  into  the 
dramatic  spectacle  through  the  national  disposi- 
tion to  symbolism  (in  all  the  seductive  fantasie  of 
form  and  colour  to  which  the  symbol  lends  itself) 
that  decoration  has  become  an  essential,  as  well 
as  a  sentient,  component  of  the  Imperial  theatre. 
And  this  occurs  in  a  country  where  the  stage  has 
no  scenery.  Such  apparent  anachronism  is  ex- 
plained by  Chinamen  that  as  their  theatre  is  not 
imitative,  landscape,  or  an  interiour,  is  created 
for  an  audience  by  suggestion;  by  emotion;  and, 
it  must  be  confessed  of  the  theatre  habitue  of 
today,  by  drama  tradition. 

To  the  Chinese,  scenery  is  a  "silly  and  unneces- 
sary bother."  A  court  event  which  may  have 
taken  place  centuries  ago  in  a  magnificent  en- 
tourage will  be  reproduced  in  the  playhouse  with 
every  detail  of  costume  and  mode  of  speech  care- 

61 


62  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

fully  exact  but  without  scenery  and  with  almost 
no  stage  furnishing.  The  imagination  that  has 
created  in  Chinese  art  so  much  chimerical  humour 
of  animal  and  flower  and  fetish  can  find  a  river 
where  there  is  no  water,  and  a  mountain  where 
none  is  painted. 

Prescribed  action  creates  scenery!  If  some 
character  must  climb  a  mountain,  pantomimic 
motions  assume  the  presence  of  the  granite  hill. 
If  a  criminal  is  to  be  executed  it  is  accomplished 
with  a  bamboo  pole  and  traditional  movements  on 
the  part  of  the  actor.  He,  the  criminal,  wails  a 
confession  of  guilt,  walks  to  one  side  of  the  stage 
and  stands  under  a  bamboo  pole  on  which  a  cloth 
is  tied;  he  indicates  strangulation  by  throwing 
back  his  head  and  looking  up  to  heaven.  If,  in  a 
stage  story,  a  general  goes  upon  a  journey,  the 
scene  is  not  changed  to  transport  one's  mind  to 
another  place,  instead  the  soldier  cracks  a  whip, 
dashes  across  the  stage  to  a  crash  of  cymbals,  and 
announces  that  he  has  arrived.  To  dismount  from 
his  absent  steed  he  pirouettes  upon  one  foot  and 
drops  his  whip ;  to  mount  he  turns  upon  the  other 
foot  and  picks  up  his  whip.  If  a  plot  demands 
that  a  fairy  enter  in  a  chariot  of  clouds,  a  feminine 
figure  advances  bearing  horizontally  two  flags 
upon  which  clouds  and  wheels  are  painted;  she  is 
accompanied  by  another  actor  in  the  ubiquitous 
blue  cotton  of  the  Chinese  workman. 


ME]    LAN-FANG    IN    THE    COSTUME    OF    AN    ANCIENT    WARRIOR 


COSTUME  AND  SYMBOLIC  DESIGN       63 

Upon  the  stage  a  man  may  drink  wine  in  which, 
unknown  to  himself,  a  venomous  snake  has  been 
dissolved,  he  may  suffer  a  frightful  irritation, 
throw  himself  into  a  pond,  wash,  and  find  himself 
cured,  in  a  propertyless  pantomine  that  is  per- 
fectly understood  by  his  audience.  Rivers,  walls, 
temples,  groves,  thrones,  couches,  are  represented 
by  a  bench  or  screen,  and  if  the  acting  is  good 
everyone  is  satisfied. 

But  if  scenery  exists  only  in  the  imagination, 
costumery  is  splendidly  authentic  and  is  fre- 
quently of  astonishing  beauty.  Chinese  costume — 
like  plumcake — from  the  very  richness  of  its 
material,  is  long  lived;  and  the  clothes  used  in 
today's  theatre  may  have  been  worn  several  cen- 
turies ago  by  mandarins  and  court  officials,  by 
emperours,  their  wives  and  concubines. 

As  Chinese  dress  was  designed  for  ceremonial 
purpose — a  cloak  in  which  to  hide  any  condition 
of  spiritual  or  physical  poverty — and  to  present 
men  to  the  world  as  they  wished  to  appear,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  realize  why  it  is  so  magnificent  and 
costly.  The  traditional  stage  dress  of  even  a 
beggar  is  a  silk  coat  of  a  gay  checked  design. 
There  is  a  tradition  too  to  be  followed  in  the 
"barbarian's"  dress,  and  he  must  wear  a  bit  of  fur 
about  his  throat  no  matter  what  the  temperature. 

The  necessity  for  accuracy  in  stage  dress  means 
that  an  actor's  wardrobe  may  be  so  expensive  that 


64  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

he  more  often  hires  than  owns  it.  Establishments 
exist  to  furnish  stage  clothes  by  the  season  to  an 
entire  company;  and  servants,  who  return  every 
costume  to  its  particular  box  after  each  wearing, 
are  included  in  the  rental  price. 

Faces  are  painted  with  red,  black,  white,  green, 
and  gold,  and  add  their  colour  characterization 
to  the  spectacle.  The  effect,  even  without  scenery, 
that  is  obtained  by  groups  of  painted  figures 
dressed  in  stiff  brocade  of  all  tints,  by  the  glitter 
of  immense  jewels,  of  gold  traceries  and  silver 
tissue,  of  tufted  plumes  and  long  pheasant 
feathers  that  wave  above  glistening  headdresses, 
of  glinting  swords  and  brilliantly  uniformed 
soldiery,  is  of  memorable  dazzle  and  magnificence. 

Pierre  Loti  mentions1  the  stage  trappings  for 
the  actors  who  played  in  the  Empress'  theatre 
in  Peking,  and  which  he  was  privileged  to  see 
when  he  was  one  of  the  Occidental  soldiery  ap- 
pointed to  guard  the  looted  Imperial  City  in  which 
the  imperial  ruler,  Tsu-Hsi,  gratified  her  whims 
and  cruelties,  her  emotional  desires  and  her  de- 
mand for  entertainment,  during  the  years  she 
lived  behind  the  inner  walls  of  Peking.  Tsu-Hsi 
was  deeply  entertained  by  the  theatre  and  wrote 
a  few  plays  herself  for  palace  presentation. 

Loti  says  "I  arrive  in  time  to  see  .  .  .  the  decora- 
tions, emblems,  and  accessories  of  the  Chinese 

i  "The  Last  Days  of  Pekin." 


"  St 


Symbol   for   "Happiness" 


TWO    COMMON    CHINESE    SYMBOLS 


COSTUME  AND  SYMBOLIC  DESIGN       65 

Imperial  theatre.  They  were  cumbersome,  frail 
things,  intended  to  serve  but  for  a  night  or  two, 
and  then  forgotten  for  an  indefinite  time  in  a 
room  which  was  never  opened  .  .  .  mythological 
representations  were  evidently  given  at  this 
theatre,  the  scene  taking  place  either  in  hell  or 
with  the  gods  in  the  clouds ;  and  such  a  collection 
as  there  was  of  monsters,  chimeras,  wild  beasts 
and  devils,  in  cardboard  or  paper  mounted  or 
carcasses  made  of  bamboo  or  whalebone,  all 
devised  with  perfect  genius  for  the  horrible,  with 
an  imagination  surpassing  the  limits  of  a  night- 
mare." 

It  is  this  imagination  surpassing  a  nightmare 
that  shaped  avatar  and  devil  to  scurry  and  swoop 
as  stage  character,  and  that  wove  grotesque  and 
fantastic  forms  into  brocaded  robe  for  Mongol 
and  Ming  and  Manchu  to  reappear  upon  the  stage 
of  today.  Although  fact  and  fancy  offer  rare 
latitude  for  spectacular  effect  they  maintain  this 
separation :  gods  and  mortals  as  stage  people  may 
be  creatures  of  imagination,  or  legendary  por- 
traits— if  a  god  has  made  the  step  from  person 
to  personification — but  costumes  must  be  either 
authentic  or  minutely  copied  from  models  of  the 
period  they  dress. 

Candles,  lamps,  or,  in  a  few  permanent  theatres, 
electric  lights,  illumine  the  stage,  but  lighting  for 


66  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

artistic  purpose  is  not  included  in  the  Chinese 
theory  of  dramatic  art. 

The  Chinese  differ  from  many  other  Eastern 
people  in  that  they  understand  the  ancient  sym- 
bols woven  or  painted  or  cut  into  their  decoration 
and  continue  to  utilize  them  to  tell  a  story  or  re- 
flect an  early  superstition — to  protect,  to  ridicule, 
to  praise. 

Tae-Keih,  or  Great  Monad,  is  a  significant 
symbol  in  Celestial  design.  It  represents  the  dual- 
istic  principle  of  man  and  woman  (the  male  in 
the  female  and  the  female  in  the  male) ;  and  the 
harmony  of  the  universe  is  supposed  to  depend 
upon  the  balance  maintained  between  these  two 
elements.  This  design  is  everywhere,  on  book, 
wall,  porcelain,  tablet,  and  brocade.  It  is  a  symbol 
of  Chinese  cosmogony.  It  may  apply  to  opposites 
that  exist  in  pairs — to  the  world  and  hades,  to  the 
sun  and  moon,  to  hard  and  soft.  The  great 
Monad  symbolizes  the  basis  of  Chinese  philos- 
ophy, science,  and  religion,  and  thus  its  univer- 
sality in  decoration  is  inevitable. 

In  China  the  dragon  is  the  male  element.  He 
is  the  emblem  of  Heaven  as,  since  B.  C.  206,  he 
has  been  the  device  of  emperours.  He  is  a  stage 
character  and  appears  in  apparent  flesh  as  well 
as  in  sinuous  embroidery.  Although  he  is  wing- 
less he  has  the  power  to  rise  in  the  air  at  will. 
As  the  sender  of  rains  and  floods  and  the  ruler  of 


s»b 


THE  KIVE-CE,\WED  IMPERIAL  DRAGON 


COSTUME  AND  SYMBOLIC  DESIGN       67 

the  clouds  he  dominates  the  type  of  village  stage 
performance  which  is  arranged  during  a  too  rainy 
season  to  pray  for  dry  weather.  The  earth  dragon 
marks  the  course  of  rivers. 

The  monkey  too  is  immortalized.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  have  existed  before  there  was  a  Heaven 
and  earth — where  we  are  not  informed.  He  de- 
feated the  generals  of  Heaven  in  battle  and  was 
finally  captured  by  Buddha,  in  the  end  to  be  re- 
leased from  earth  wanderings  by  a  mighty 
traveler. 

The  fox  is  a  comic  symbol  whose  stage  "busi- 
ness" seems  limitless.  He  may  be  either  man  or 
woman,  and  practises  every  deceit.  His  glance 
is  said  to  be  as  efficacious  as  a  drop  of  benzine 
for  removing  spots,  and  soiled  garments  are  left 
before  his  shrine. 

The  god  of  thunder  association  is  called  Lei 
Shen.  His  birthday  is  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
the  sixth  moon,  and  during  the  three  weeks  which 
preceed  this  date  the  people  feast  in  his  honour. 
He  has  three  eyes  and  rides  a  tiger. 

There  are  many  gods  in  the  likeness  of  men. 
In  the  third  century  the  present  god  of  war  was 
a  famous  general  named  Kuan  Yii.  He  slept 
quietly  for  twelve  hundred  years  until,  in  1594,  he 
was  deified  and  became  known  as  Kuan  Ti.  He 
is  usually  in  armour  and  carries  a  long  weapon. 
Confucians  call  him  the  military  sage.     To  the 


68  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

Buddhists  he  is  the  god  of  protection,  and  to  the 
Taoists  the  minister  of  Heaven.  In  popular  usage 
he  is  also  the  head  of  the  military.  Although 
habit  is  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  the 
continuing  faith  in  deity  prescience  and  protec- 
tion, it  is  interesting  commentary  on  the  popular 
European  legend  that  China's  martial  spirit  is 
not  awake,  to  recall  that  a  picture  of  Kuan  Ti 
hangs  in  every  tent  and  officer's  camp  of  her 
million  and  a  half  soldiers,  and  that  the  god  of 
war  is  the  patron  of  many  trades  and  professions. 

The  theatre  god  is  in  the  likeness  of  Ming 
Huang,  the  eighth  century  emperour  who  estab- 
lished a  school  for  actors  in  the  garden  of  his 
palace.  While  most  actors  have  another  patron 
saint  to  whom  they  make  added  sacrifice,  they 
also  worship  the  theatre  god  to  be  saved  from 
laughing  upon  the  stage.  The  image  of  Ming 
Huang  is  seen  in  theatres.  The  symbol  called 
age  represents  a  force  to  be  placated  that  is  used 
at  birthday  celebrations  of  gods  and  mortals  and 
finds  place  upon  the  stage.  For  festival  use  "age" 
is  of  carved  and  gilded  wood  and  is  about  four 
feet  high;  as  a  motif  it  decorates  many  surfaces 
of  porcelain  and  silk,  and  its  general  popularity 
is  a  common  expression  of  the  psychic  effect  in 
associated  ideas. 

The  ideograph  for  happiness  and  for  bat  are 
both    pronounced  as  "fu"  and  the  Chinese  wit 


T/?(/f7der-  (jo</ 


LEI    SHEN 


COSTUME  AND  SYMBOLIC  DESIGN       69 

often  plays  with  this  dual  significance  in  design. 
If  five  bats  are  shown  together  the  five  blessings 
are  signified. 

There  is  a  group  of  sacred  and  profane  symbols 
called  the  "Hundred  antiques"  which  includes  the 
pearl,  a  charm  against  flood  and  fire ;  coin,  emblem 
of  riches ;  Artemisia  leaf,  good  fortune ;  two  books, 
representing  learning;  and  the  jade  gong  which 
aids  in  procuring  justice. 

The  "Twelve  ornaments"  should  not  be  ignored 
in  any  consideration  of  Chinese  design;  they  ap- 
pear alone  or  in  grouped  decoration,  and  fre- 
quently are  embroidered  upon  robes  of  ceremony 
worn  in  the  theatre  both  by  actors  and  the  au- 
dience.   These  "Twelve  ornaments"  are: 

1.  Sun,  in  a  bank  of  clouds,  with  a  three- 
legged  bird  inside  the  disc. 

2.  Moon,  containing  a  hare  and  a  mortar  and 
pestle. 

3.  Constellation  of  stars  connected  by  straight 
lines. 

4.  Mountains. 

5.  Five  clawed  dragon   (already    mentioned). 

6.  Flowery  fowls,  two  varigated  pheasants. 

7.  Temple  vessels,  used  in  ancestral  worship. 

8.  Aquatic  grasses  in  sprays. 

9.  Fire  in  flaming  scrolls. 

10.  Millet  grains  grouped  in  medallions. 


70  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

11.  Fu  =  axe  or  weapon  of  warrior. 

12.  Fu  =  symbol  of  distinction  or  happiness 
(already  mentioned).1 

Symbols — as  is  the  god  of  war — may  very  in 
name  to  accord  with  the  three  doctrines  of  China; 
they  may  differ  even  in  form  among  the  Manchus 
of  the  north  or  the  Chinese  of  the  south;  but  how- 
ever symbol  and  image  may  change  in  outline 
their  presence  and  influence  is  universal.  Scroll 
and  animal  and  flower,  knots  and  leaves,  claws, 
scaly  tails,  fangs  and  squinting  eyes  depict  fury, 
malice,  cunning,  goodness  or  wisdom;  a  dragon 
protects,  a  fox  betrays,  a  squat  old  mandarin  ad- 
vises, a  bit  of  golden  scroll  blesses;  monsters  of 
lacquer  or  bronze  or  jade;  vermillion,  nocturnal 
blue  or  the  yellow  of  old  faience;  deities  of  the 
house,  the  street,  the  tomb,  the  temple,  the  theatre, 
speak  the  secrets  of  the  Violet  City;  and  confess 
in  contortions  and  audacious  prostrations  the 
superstitions  of  the  Chinese ;  to  link  dynasties  and 
repeat  the  imponderable  fantasie  and  the  bland 
cruelties  of  twice  two  thousand  years. 


i  Sir  A.  W.  Franks. 


6od 'of '  ttter 


KUAN  TI.  A  FAMOUS  GENERAL  IN  THE  THIRD  CENTURY 


CHAPTER    IX 

Customs  of  the  Playhouse  and 
the  Greenroom 

THE  building  in  which  drama  is  presented 
is  of  little  more  importance  in  theatre 
tradition,  and  apparently  as  unnecessary 
for  the  enjoyment  of  a  play,  as  scenery  or  prop- 
erties. Only  in  large  cities  are  permanent  theatres 
to  be  found. 

China  is  a  country  of  extremes,  in  wealth  and 
distances  as  well  as  in  every  art  expression,  and, 
in  spite  of  its  long  existence  as  an  amusement  for 
emperours  and  the  wealthy  class,  the  theatre  has 
held  to  something  of  the  early  nomadic  habit  of 
the  Chinese  people  who  wander — tents  more  or 
less  under  arm— about  the  country. 

The  temporary  or  "mat"  theatre  made  of  mats 
and  bamboo  poles  is  the  most  usual  form  of  play- 
house, and  one  large  enough  to  hold  a  thousand 
people  may  be  erected  in  a  few  hours  from  ma- 
terial which  each  traveling  company  carries  for 
the  purpose. 

71 


72  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

In  town  and  village  a  stage  may  be  hastily  put 
up  in  a  field;  or  a  traveling  troupe  of  actors  may 
be  allowed  to  play  in  a  temple  or  its  courtyard  if 
some  deity  shrined  within  is  featured  in  the  per- 
formance. Even  a  convenient  street  corner  is  not 
disdained  by  a  manager,  to  whom  the  actual  stage 
is  of  small  interest. 

Superior  companies  of  actors  do  not  travel  far 
from  Peking  or  some  other  large  city  where  they 
are  less  despised  and  better  paid  than  in  small 
towns,  but  the  majority  of  troups  are  nomadic; 
and  Chinese  villages  are  few  which  do  not  have 
at  least  one  annual  series  of  dramatic  perform- 
ances. 

The  actor  is  the  troubadour  of  China.  He 
carries  the  news,  the  entertainment,  and  a  degree 
of  instruction  to  millions  of  remote  people  who 
have  no  other  association  with  cities  than  that 
which  is  brought  to  them  by  the  traveling  players. 

Mat  theatres  include  a  stage,  a  greenroom, 
several  loges  in  which  seats  are  placed,  and, 
usually,  pavillions  in  which  tea  and  sweets  are 
sold.  The  majority  of  the  spectators  stand  or  sit 
upon  the  ground  close  to  the  stage,  sometimes 
remaining  a  half  dozen  hours  without  appearing 
to  tire  of  the  acrobatic  tumbling,  the  grotesque 
humour,  and  the  military  manoeuvres  that  the 
long  performances  offer. 

Seating    arrangements  vary  with  the  type  of 


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CUSTOMS    OF    THE    PLAYHOUSE        73 

theatre.  In  a  permanent  playhouse  the  stage  is 
at  one  end  with  a  gallery  opposite  and  loges  on 
either  side  at  the  stage  level.  Both  the  auditorium 
and  the  stage  are  rectangular.  Tables  and  chairs 
are  in  the  pit  and  seats  in  the  rear  gallery.  Stands 
for  teapots  and  cups  are  within  reach  of  every- 
body, and  tea  is  served  continuously;  even  an 
actor  may  be  offered  a  cup  of  tea  while  playing, 
if  his  part  is  difficult  or  prolonged. 

All  Chinese  theatres  have  certain  unhygienic 
customs  such  as  a  common  use  of  wet  towels, 
passed  about  to  "refresh"  the  audience;  the 
omnipotent  teacup;  and  the  unfreshened  air; 
which  to  an  Occidental  make  the  out  of  door  per- 
formance, even  under  a  hot  sun,  preferable  to 
the  congested  audience  chamber  of  the  permanent 
playhouse. 

The  so  called  evil  smells  of  China — in  the  West 
China  is  the  proverbial  home  of  the  "bad  egg" — 
what  they  smell  of  and  why  they  endure,  are 
astounding.  They  too  are  traditional;  and  give 
pleasure  to  the  Chinaman,  whose  idea  of  sweet 
and  foul  differs  from  our  own,  and  whose  scent 
perception  is  so  developed  that  a  man  sitting 
within  a  house  is  able  to  say  whether  or  no  a 
passerby  is  a  native  of  his  own  town.  But  to 
the  Westerner  who  cultivates  only  his  senses  of 
sight  and  hearing  (taste  he  dulls  and  touch  and 
smell  he  scarcely  thinks  of  to  secure  enjoyment) 


74  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

and  who  names  only  a  rose  or  a  pudding  "sweet" 
even  the  mention  of  Chinese  smells  is  anathema. 

The  average  permanent  theatre  holds  about 
seven  hundred  people.  A  loge  is  supposed  to  seat 
five  but  no  one  objects  if  a  few  other  persons 
crowd  into  it.  Ideas  of  comfort  in  sitting — as  in 
smells — change  with  the  latitude,  and  the  average 
Chinaman  is  indifferent  to  what  the  Occidental 
calls  "comfort." 

It  is  the  custom  to  collect  the  admission  fee 
during  the  evening  after  those  persons  who  may 
not  find  themselves  interested  in  the  performance 
have  had  time  to  depart.  In  permanent  theatres 
admission  has  been  no  more  than  twenty-five 
cents  until  the  last  few  years  when  a  performance 
by  a  celebrated  actor  may  command  several  times 
that  amount.  In  temporary  theatres  entrance  is 
usually  free.  Country  festivals  are  paid  for  either 
by  a  wealthy  man  of  the  village  or  by  popular- 
subscription.  Money  may  be  tossed  upon  the 
stage  at  the  end  of  a  performance. 

Transportation  of  stage  panoply — costumes, 
mats,  et  cetera,  and  the  hundred  odd  people  who 
form  the  company,  is  uniquely  accomplished.  A 
group  of  players  hires  its  own  "junk"  and  sails, 
or  is  towed,  to  cities  and  settlements  along  the 
rivers  and  waterways.  The  "junk"  serves  also  as 
hotel,  and  is  one  of  the  diverting  sights  of  the 
heterogeneous  river  life. 


A  TEMPORARY  THEATRE.  OF  MATS  AND  BAMBOO 


CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PLAYHOUSE   75 

Once  a  twelvemonth  actors  disband  to  form 
new  combinations  and  sign  fresh  contracts.  Each 
company  is  given  a  name,  to  which  a  number  may 
be  added,  to  accord  with  the  rank  it  holds  in  the 
public  and  in  the  managerial  estimation.  Natur- 
ally this  method  is  confusing. 

The  greenroom  of  a  permanent  theatre  is  an 
exotic  spectacle  and  must  be  in  some  degree  a 
confused  domicile  even  to  the  actor  who  spends 
most  of  his  life  passing  in  and  out  of  it,  gambling, 
drinking  tea,  or  sleeping  on  a  pile  of  boxes,  when 
he  is  not  actually  on  the  stage.  Customs,  or 
rather  rules,  are  rigidly  enforced  in  the  green- 
room; for  example:  it  has  always  been  the  priv- 
ilege of  only  the  actors  who  impersonate  em- 
perours  to  sit  upon  the  "big  clothes  box"  which 
belongs  to  a  prominent  member  of  the  troupe. 

Leading  actors  have  individual  dressing  rooms, 
but  to  the  majority  of  the  company  the  greenroom 
is  both  dressing  room  and  property  chamber. 
Makeup  stands  and  tables  are  frequent  and  are 
littered  with  colours  and  brushes;  and  hooks 
along  the  walls  suspend  a  medley  of  masks,  false 
beards,  wigs,  helmets,  thick  soled  shoes  to  in- 
crease the  stature  of  their  wearers,  swords,  bows 
and  arrows  and  early  implements  of  war,  symbolic 
pennants  and  wands,  and  the  patched  and  dis- 
coloured clothes  belonging  to  the  lowest  members 
of  the  company  who  take  a  variety  of  minor  parts 


76  THE  CHINESE  DRAMA 

and  are  known  as  the  "waste-paper-basket" 
players. 

Most  Chinese  actors  are  pallid  and  dirty  individ- 
uals and  a  great  deal  of  paint  is  needed  to  trans- 
form them  into  beautiful  women;  but  there  are 
such  exceptions  as  Mei  Lan-fang  who  are  young 
and  comely  and  who  show  remarkable  skill  in 
makeup.  Such  men  are  greatly  appreciated  up- 
on the  stage  and  when  they  totter  in  on  their 
"golden  lilies"  the  audience  signifies  its  approval 
by  calling  out  "how,"  meaning  good.  If  a  specta- 
tor is  displeased  he  is  allowed  to  shout  "tung" 
(bad)  and  if  a  sufficient  number  is  dissatisfied 
with  a  performance  it  may  be  repeated  upon 
demand. 

The  greenroom  is  directly  behind  the  stage  and 
equals  it  in  length.  Two  doors,  as  entrance,  and 
exit,  connect  them. 

The  Chinese  stage  has  no  curtain  to  separate 
the  actor  and  the  spectator.  A  smoke  screen  is 
sometimes  used  to  obscure  the  stage  from  gods 
who  are  being  presented  upon  it  and  who  may  be 
offended  to  see  themselves  caricatured  or  bur- 
lesqued. 

Such  involved  and  dual  use  of  supernatural 
characters — impersonation  and  the  concomitant 
attempt  to  placate  for  such  imitation— provides 
both  the  genius  and  the  illusion  of  the  Imperial 
drama   which   in   unique   artistry   has   been   the 


CUSTOMS    OF    THE    PLAYHOUSE        77 

paradise  of  immortal  adventurers;  the  unrolled 
scroll  of  grotesque,  lascivious,  and  sacred  symbol; 
and  the  unchanging  national  picture-book  of  his- 
toric fact  and  fantasia  during  the  past  six  cen- 
turies of  succeeding  dynasty  and  despot. 

And  at  this  hour  in  the  Chinese  theatre  the  dis- 
turbing and  vital  question  is  whether  or  no  a 
republican  government  will  corrupt  the  Imperial 
drama  to  destroy  such  unparallelled  stage  tra- 
dition. 


L  007  300  254  5 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  124  445    6 


